NK Istra 1961 Pula
- NK Istra 1961 Pula have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five matches.
- NK Istra 1961 Pula are sixth on nine points from seven games while Gorica are tenth on two after seven in HNL 2026/2027, so there's a long, long way to go in the Croatian league before any title-race is decided.
- Javi Cabello has brought a Spanish style to the Zeleno-žuti and they are organised in a 4-2-3-1 system that defends solidly and looks to burst forward with pace when the opposition over-commit.
- NK Istra 1961 Pula have scored ten goals in four HNL 2026/2027 home games this season.
NK Gorica
- Gorica are an interesting team to face because Mario Carevic sets them up to be compact and pragmatic.
- They are flexible in their back-three structures, but rigid in terms of their disciplined mid/low block.
- in their recent games it has been Bruno Bogojevic, who has three goals in seven HNL 2026/2027 matches, who is their only real threat.
- GoricA have won none, drawn zero and lost three of their away games this term and have scored one goal on their travels.
Head-to-Head
They edged Istra 1-0 at home four months ago in HNL 2025/2026 and they will look to hold up again, but the last five head-to-heads have gone 4-1 to Gorica and the hosts can still fancy their chances of an upset in front of their home crowd.
Key Players
- Istra
- Emil Frederiksen, the Dane who has seven goals in seven HNL 2026/2027 games for Istra, is their biggest sharp edge in the final third while Hamza Jaganjac has scored four of Istra's last five goals.
- Gorica
- in their recent games it has been Bruno Bogojevic, who has three goals in seven HNL 2026/2027 matches, who is their only real threat.
Betting Insights
- Istra are odds-on favorites at 1.91, but Gorica are 3.7 and the draw is 3.6 so this fixture appears to be a tough call.
- The Zeleno-žuti have scored ten in four at their place this season, so an Under 2.5 goals bet at 2.12 looks like it could be live here.
Prediction
We'll go for the hosts to edge it, but Gorica are stubborn and this could be a cagey affair before Istra's home quality tells.