HNK Rijeka vs NK Osijek Prediction

Right then, let's have a proper look at this scrap between two sides who're both having a bit of a mare this season. Rijeka sitting 7th and Osijek 9th - not exactly the form they'd have hoped for, is it?

Rijeka's home form has been shocking, mate. Absolutely shocking. Their last three at home? All draws. And we're talking boring draws here - 0-0 against Istra, 1-1 with Lokomotiva, and 2-2 against Hajduk. They're barely scoring at home, just 0.33 goals per game recently. That's not gonna get you three points, is it?

Osijek, on the other hand, have been a bit better defensively. They've kept five clean sheets in their last ten games, which is decent going. Their away form isn't world-beating, but they do score a bit more than Rijeka do at home (1.29 vs 0.33). They did lose to Dinamo and Slaven Belupo recently, but they also beat Gorica 1-0 away.

When these two met back in August, it was a 0-0 snoozefest. Looking at their recent head-to-heads, most have been tight, low-scoring affairs. Only two of the last nine meetings have gone over 2.5 goals.

Both teams are averaging exactly 1.30 goals per game over their last ten matches, but Osijek are much tighter at the back (0.90 conceded vs Rijeka's 1.40). The goal expectancy for this match is just 1.48 goals total - that tells you everything you need to know about how this one's likely to play out.

With Rijeka struggling to score at home and Osijek being decent defensively, I'm expecting another tight, cagey affair. Neither side looks convincing enough to blow the other away, and both seem content to keep things tight.