Faroe Islands vs Croatia Prediction: Vatreni to maintain perfect start to WCQ’s

Croatia resume their World Cup qualification campaign on Friday (19:45 BST) with a trip to Torsvollur in Torshavn, where they take on the Faroe Islands. The visitors have won their first two qualifiers, thrashing Gibraltar 7-0 (A) and the Czech Republic 5-1 (H), while their hosts lost their first two against the Czech Republic 2-1 (A) and Montenegro 1-0 (A) before beating Gibraltar 2-1 (H) last time out.

Below are my Faroe Islands vs Croatia predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this Group L contest.

Team News

The Faroe Islands' most experienced internationals are 94-cap forward Joan Simun Edmundsson (KA Akureyri) and 89-cap defender Viljormur Davidsen (HB).

Football Odds

Klaksvik forward Arni Frederiksberg got his country back on level terms against Gibraltar in June, and he could be joined in the starting XI on Friday by clubmate Patrik Johannesen, who struck the winner off the bench in that qualifier.

Croatia's squad includes 188-cap midfielder Luka Modric, who swapped Real Madrid for AC Milan during the summer, 144-cap winger Ivan Perisic (PSV Eindhoven), and 106-cap forward Andrej Kramaric (TSG Hoffenheim).

However, another centurion, 110-cap midfielder Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), is out injured alongside clubmate Josko Gvardiol.

Today's Football Fixtures

Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (Girona), Borna Sosa (Crystal Palace), Franjo Ivanovic (Benfica) and Petar Sucic (Inter Milan) are all in the Vatreni camp after making summer switches.

Ivan Smolcic (Como) and Toni Fruk (Rijeka) are the only uncapped players in the squad.

Faroe Islands vs Croatia Odds

The Faroe Islands are 14/1, or a 6.7% chance, to shock Croatia and pick up all three points on Friday, with the visitors priced at 2/9 for an expected victory. The draw is available at 5/1, and both teams to score at 5/4.

Ivanovic (1/1) leads the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Kramaric (21/20), with Frederiksberg (15/2) first up for the hosts.

To Win to Nil - Croatia @ 5/6

Croatia have already recorded two big victories in Group L, hitting Gibraltar for seven on June 6 and the Czech Republic for five three days later.

Next up for Zlatko Dalic's side is a trip to the Faroe Islands, who lost their first two Group L games before getting points on board with a win over Gibraltar last time out.

On paper, they stand next to no chance of achieving a positive result on Friday against the world's 10th-best international side, who beat France 2-0 in the first leg of their Uefa Nations League play-off tie on March 20, and were only knocked out by Les Bleus on penalties in Paris three days later.

The Croats have kept two clean sheets in four outings so far this year, while the Faroe Islands have blanked in half of their four matches. I'm backing the visitors to win at Torsvollur and to record a shutout.

Away Team Total Goals - Over 3.5 @ 11/4

The Faroe Islands, despite losing four of their last five games and winning just two of their last 13, can be tough to break down.

The National Team haven't conceded more than twice in a match since losing 4-1 to Estonia in the Baltic Cup in June last year, and have been breached just 12 times in 11 contests since.

However, the best side they have played in that period is the Czech Republic, who were battered by Croatia three months ago.

The Croats scored 12 goals across two qualifiers in June and struck two first-half goals in their Uefa Nations League first-leg tie with France in March, and even missed an eighth-minute penalty in that game.

If the visitors grab an early goal in Torshavn, they could rack up a big score again.

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