Croatia vs Armenia Prediction: Kramaric to come up clutch again for Kockasti

It all comes down to the final game of qualifying for Croatia as they seek to reach a seventh consecutive major tournament. The task is clear; beat Armenia in Zagreb on Tuesday (19:45), and the Kockasti (Checkered Ones) will be playing at Euro 2024.

The visitors, meanwhile, are still smarting from their 1-1 draw with Wales on Saturday, a result which put qualification beyond them.

Team News

Croatia have a clean bill of health going into this crucial clash at the Maksimir Stadium, while they also avoided picking up any suspenions by recording zero bookings in their last game.

The same can't be said for Armenia, whose captain Varazdat Haroyan picked up a third yellow card of the campaign against Wales on Saturday to rule him out of this one.

Match Odds

Croatia are heavy favourites (1/7) to get the victory they require on Tuesday, while a draw, which wouldn't be enough if Wales beat Turkey on the same night, is priced at 7/1. A shock Armenia win, meanwhile, is priced at 16/1.

Both teams to score in this match is 13/8, and it's 4/7 for over 2.5 goals.

Croatia to win and under 2.5 goals @ 2/1

Those tuning into Croatia games hoping to see a glut of goals will have been left very disappointed so far this campaign.

Across seven games in Group D, there have been 16 goals - 12 for Croatia, and four against. The next fewest is Wales at 18 (nine scored, nine conceded), and both nations have witnessed the most number of games (five) with under 2.5 goals.

I expect Croatia to secure the victory they need to qualify for Euro 2024, but like the majority of their wins - three of them have seen under 2.5 goals - I don't envisage them running away with it.

The reverse fixture in Yerevan saw the Croats win 1-0, and with so much riding on this one for the hosts - and little for Armenia - Josko Gvardiol and co should be confident of keeping a fifth clean sheet of the group.

Andrej Kramaric to score first @ 7/2

Croatia have been solid but unspectacular in Group D, with their tally of goals - more than half (seven) of them against bottom side Latvia - perhaps further evidence of the gap in quality between their attack and their strongest area of the pitch, midfield.

One attacker who has been key to their chances of qualification, though, is Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric, with the 32-year-old having scored four so far - more than double the next highest (Mario Pasalic, Mateo Kovacic and Bruno Petkovic, all on two).

The Premier League winner with Leicester scored a crucial second in Croatia's 2-0 win over Latvia on Sunday, while two of his strikes this campaign have been the first of the match (in the 1-1 draw against Wales in March and the 1-0 win over Armenia in September).

Kramaric has proven to be the man for the big occasion before, and he is more than capable of being so again.

You can read all of our previews for qualifying and the tournament itself when it gets under way in our Euro 2024 Betting Tips section, so keep checking that out.