Lokomotiva (home)
- They are an attacking 4-3-3 side under Nikica Jelavić, who has integrated plenty of youth into the club and has his team playing a proactive game.
- Lokomotiva play high-tempo soccer, pressing the ball hard and looking to get at the opposition wide and attack quickly.
- Jelavić’s men have been in bad shape heading into the winter break with three consecutive defeats, but a win and draw in January friendlies seems to have steadied the ship.
- Aleks Stojaković is the main man up front with seven HNL goals this season while Marko Pajač is the chief provider from fullback.
- Lokomotiva sit 8th in the HNL with 19 points from 18 games, but their goal difference of -10, after conceding 30 goals, is of concern.
- They lost 1-3 at home to Hajduk and 2-4 at Varaždin in two of their final league games before the winter pause.
Vukovar (away)
- Vukovar sit 9th in the standings with 15 points from 18 matches.
- Vukovar’s goal difference is even worse, at -13, which tells its own story of how porous their backline has been in the HNL.
- Vukovar won their final league game before the break, beating Varaždin 2-0, while Lokomotiva ended with three straight defeats.
- The visitors have won their two January friendlies by big margins, beating KF Arsimi 4-0.
- Silvijo Čabraja has done a good job of keeping them afloat with a pragmatic, compact shape that is difficult to break down.
- His side will come out in a 4-2-3-1 formation, sitting deep and looking to hit on counterattacks or on set-pieces when they can get their tall players to the far post.
Head-to-Head
- Lokomotiva have had the better of the pair in the 2025-26 season, taking four points off Vukovar in the HNL and knocking them out of the cup back in November 2023.
- Lokomotiva and Vukovar have been close in the HNL standings this season with the hosts winning once and drawing once.
Key Players
- Lokomotiva
- Aleks Stojaković is the main man up front with seven HNL goals this season while Marko Pajač is the chief provider from fullback.
- Josip Posavec is the ever-present goalkeeper and a vital presence, probably the reason Lokomotiva remain in games when they are not performing at their best.
- Vukovar
- Kerim Çalhanoğlu and Lovro Banovec give Vukovar that little bit of extra cutting edge, often popping up with goals or assists, while Robin González is a creative spark with 5-6 goal contributions this term and has attracted the attention of a few clubs during his purple patch.
Betting Insights
- NK Lokomotiva Zagreb are the slight favorites at 1.77 to beat bottom-half Vukovar 1991 in a tight relegation battle on Saturday.
- The visitors are outsiders at 4.28 and the draw at 3.64 is also a big price considering how close these two clubs have been in the HNL 2025-2026 campaign.
- Both teams to net seems a good play at 1.74, which matches the outcome prediction from our match model for an open, end-to-end game.
Prediction
- Čabraja will know Lokomotiva inside out and will be looking to frustrate his former club on Saturday in what will be an emotional game for the Vukovar boss.
- We cannot split the two sides for the outcome of the game, as Lokomotiva have that slight home advantage and attacking edge, but Vukovar have won two friendlies by large margins since the break and will come into the game with confidence.
- Vukovar can make it close, perhaps too close to call, with set-piece drama likely to play a role, and the two results that fit the model are 2-1 and 1-1.
