Croatia vs Ghana Prediction: Bore draw to decide Group L’s final four?

Assuming England do the business against Panama, this meeting of Croatia and Ghana in Philadelphia on Saturday night (10pm BST, live on ITV 4) will decide who finishes runner-up in Group L. Or top, if the Black Stars win it by an unlikely margin. Lots on the line, then.

Read on for my Croatia vs Ghana predictions, complete with the latest odds and team news and concluded with a Correct Score selection.

Croatia vs Ghana Odds

Croatia are odds-on at 4/5 to earn all three points on Saturday night. That's an implied probability of 55%.

At 4/1 (20%) is Ghana, while the draw is available at 12/5 (29%).

You can back both teams to score at 11/10, or the opposite at 4/6. Croatian duo Andrej Kramaric and Ante Budimir are joint-favourites to open the scoring at 9/2.

Team News

Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz not only switched to a back five against England, but the personnel was quite different too. That makes it difficult to predict what he'll do on Saturday.

The big question is who will start in goal for the Black Stars. Lawrence Ati Zigi is the number one, but he was injured against Panama and replaced by Benjamin Asare, who played the entire 90 against England. It's unclear if Alt Zigi will be fit enough to return to the XI, but he's been pictured in training which offers optimism.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, denied entry into Canada for his country's World Cup opener against Panama due to ongoing criminal proceedings in the UK, returned to the side in Boston and should stay there again.

The fitness of captain Jordan Ayew, who was substituted against England with just over 20 minutes left to play, is unclear.

Zlatko Dalic made two changes to the Croatia side that lost 4-2 to England for the Panama game. Spurs centre-back Luka Vuskovic and Inter Milan midfielder Petar Sucic were replaced by Martin Pongracic and the experienced Mateo Kovacic respectively.

It wouldn't be a surprise if there was a return to the more-attacking side that started the opener.

Draw @ 12/5

This one's got a draw written all over it...

Ghana need only to avoid defeat to secure at least that second spot in Group L, so expect Carlos Queiroz's side to once again deploy that very effective low-block that frustrated England for 90 minutes on Tuesday night.

A point ought to be enough for the Croatians to qualify as one of the top third-placed teams, but the impetus is on them to actually go and try to win the game.

I've got my doubts about their ability to do so, however. Sure, they scored twice against the Three Lions, but that was from an xG of under 0.7.

Against Panama, who are yet to score a single goal let alone get a point on the board, the Vatreni only managed six shots, including three on target.

They'll find it even harder to break down this Ghana side, who are yet to concede, so I'm backing a stalemate in Philly.

Player To Be Carded - Jordan Ayew (Sub Switch) @ 18/5

Jordan Ayew was, as my mother would say, in the wars against England.

The 34-year-old Leicester City forward ended up in bandages after banging heads with Reece James in the first half, but he soon returned to the pitch and the Ghana skipper continued to put his body on the line.

He's averaging 3.5 fouls per game at this World Cup and if I'm right about Ghana's approach to the Croatia game, he's going to be in the thick of it again if fit to start.

That makes him a standout option to be carded in Philly - and at just shy of 4/1 it's excellent value too.

Sub Switch

Pre-Match Bet Builder & Single bets on qualifying Player selections. Selected leagues & markets only. Applies to Price Boosts & Turbo Boosts. Extra-time will count. T&Cs Apply.

Sub Switch

Pre-Match Bet Builder & Single bets on qualifying Player selections. Selected leagues & markets only. Applies to Price Boosts & Turbo Boosts. Extra-time will count. T&Cs Apply.

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