Turkey meet Croatia on home soil in Bursa today, the last time out these two met in Turkey finished 3-3 in a friendly fixture. Croatia have only lost two times in the last ten games against Turkey.
Turkey will be hoping to cause an upset against a very strong Croatia team as their fans will look to make it a hot atmosphere for the visitors.
Dalic has to steady the ship fast and he knows a win is a must in this one. These two usually provide spectacles in terms of in-game intensity and I’m sure this one could be the same.
Enes Unal has scored six goals in his last four in La Liga and he’ll look to keep the hot streak going as he spearheads Turkey’s attack.
WHEN & WHERE?
Date: Saturday, 28th March 2023.
Time: 7.45 pm UK
Venue: Timsah Arena, Bursa; Turkey
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Andreas Ekberg.
Assistants: Fredrik Klyver, Niklas Nyberg.
Fourth official: Granit Maqedonci.
VAR: Christian Dingert.
Assistant VAR: Mike Pickel.
TEAM NEWS
Bruno Petkovic and Marko Livaja are set to miss out while Turkey have no major injury concerns.
MATCH ANALYSIS
Croatia started off brightly against Wales and Kramaric’s smart toe-poke finish looked like it will be enough to claim all three points. However, they ended up conceding a shock 93rd-minute equaliser against from a long throw which should have been dealt with much smarter.
Nathan Broadhead scored to make it a dream debut for Page’s side.
Key battle will be in midfield, however. Modric-Brozovic-Kovacic against Calhanoglu-Kokcu-Ozcan will be interesting to see. I keep saying it all the time but if you do let this Croatia midfield get into their groove, you lose control of the game instantly.
The key to preventing this is to keep the aggression levels high and even pushing the limits on aggressive foul play. Disrupt their rhythm and you stand a chance, this is precisely what I feel like Turkey could go with.
Both teams have star talent gems on the bench; Arda Guler and Sucic are ones to watch if they make an appearance. Coincidentally, both are lefties too.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Turkey possible starting lineup: Gunok; Celik, Soyuncu, Demiral, Elmali; Calhanoglu, Ozcan, Kokcu; Under, Unal, Akturktoglu
Croatia possible starting lineup: Livakovic; Juranovic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic
