Panama vs Croatia Prediction: Panama no pushovers in Toronto

Both Panama and Croatia lost the opening games of their World Cup campaigns, so the meeting between the two will be absolutely crucial in deciding who goes through in Group L. 

This one kicks off in Toronto at 7pm local time, which is 12am BST and the game is live on BBC One. Read on to find my Panama vs Croatia predictions featuring team news and betting odds.

Team News

Panama defended well the majority of the game against Ghana, before losing in added time. Thomas Christiansen is therefore likely to stick with the same goalkeeper, defence and midfield, and deploy his usual 3-4-3 system. Up top Jose Fajardo is trying to force his way into the XI ahead of Cecilio Waterman, but this could be an unchanged XI for this second group game. 

Zlatko Dalic may be pondering more changes after a difficult second half against England. Mateo Kovacic was surprisingly left on the bench but could come in to partner Luka Modric in midfield, but goals from striker Petar Musa and attacking midfielder Martin Baturina should keep them both in the team.

Panama vs Croatia Odds

Panama are priced at 11/2 to win this game, with Croatia the 1/2 favourites to take all three points. That gives Dalic’s side an implied win probability of 75%, with a draw available at 16/5. 

There’s several appealing Price Boosts available on the link above, with Croatia striker Ante Budimir the 7/2 favourite to open the scoring. 

Panama +2 handicap @ 4/7

I still thik Group L has a surprise or two in store for us, and I’m going to start by backing against Croatia. Sort of. I thought they would lose fairly heavily to England in their opener and although they scored twice, they looked incredibly shaky in that second half as the Three Lions tore them apart.

Obviously the difficulty of the opposition is a lot easier for this fixture, and so I still think a win could be on the cards, but I’ll start by backing Panama to win with a +2 handicap. For those new to this market that means they start with a two-goal headstart, and so a one-goal defeat would still see this bet settled as a winner. 

Panama only conceded two shots on target against Ghana, and will try and play the same way in this one. A defensive resolute performance is something to build on, but with England to come in their final game, their qualification hopes look slim unless they win here.

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Carlos Harvey 3+ fouls (Sub Switch) @ 15/8

Panama’s destructive midfielder Carlos Harvey got through a lot of work against Ghana, but lost 13 of his 17 duels in the game. He did make four tackles, but more importantly for our second selection, he made a whopping five fouls, picking up a yellow card in the process. 

I think it’s a safer pick to back him to make 3+ fouls rather than pick up a second yellow card of the tournament, with the Minnesota midfielder set to be in the thick of the action once more. 

Betfred's Sub Switch offer rolls your bet to the oncoming substitute, so you stay in the game, even when your player doesn’t.