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Osijek must score first

Osijek are glued to the bottom of the table and they could stay there if they don't change something quickly. Zadar are one of their top rivals in their battle to stay in the league. They must win.

If you don't concede, you will win at least a point. This theory isn't going to help Osijek much in the remainder of the season. Especially since they rarely manage to maintain a clean sheet. The other challenge, scoring a goal, seems like an even harder task for them. They scored only once in last five matches. The goal came against Hajduk in injury time, after two overlooked offside positions. They were lucky that time, but that wasn't the case in other matches. Furthermore, they suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat in the previous round at the hands of Lokomotiva.

- I often say that my players play completely differently on home turf when compared to away matches. Well, this is a home fixture and we must find a way to win. Zadar are a strong team, very compact and experienced in defense, but we don't have a choice - said coach Rupnik.

There are going to be a few changes for the Lokomotiva encounter. Experienced Frane Vitaic is back in the starting lineup. There are also going to be some changes on the left side, which has been the team's weakest link both defensively and offensively.

As usual, Rupnik didn't reveal his starting eleven, so all we know is that Perosevic, Smoje and Skoric are going to be unavailable. Ljubojevic will probably spearhead Osijek's attacks, and Jakovljevic could get a chance at the left-back position.

Osijek must be aggressive, quick and strong. If Zadar manage to slow down their tempo, they will have a hard time breaking through their defensive wall. So far they have shown that they lack the players for such situations.

Zadar are progressing well in the league. In the previous round they played a good defensive game of football in a draw against Dinamo. This wasn't a coincidence and we could see Zadar repeating such feats in the future, since they've got a good squad of players. At least when it comes to "get behind the ball and defend the point" tactics. Marin Orsulic (former Zagreb player) has joined the experienced acquisitions, whom we have already discussed (Neretljak, Hrgovic, Tadic). Orsulic will further strengthen their defensive line.

- We will have to make some changes to the lineup because we cannot count on two missing players. Despite that, I believe that we will be strong enough to get another positive result - said the young head coach Milin.

Many believe that he is the main reason for Zadar's good results. And they are probably correct. Zadar have got a recognizable play style and they don't suffer from the "lesser team syndrome", who often lose their formation on the pitch. In Zadar, everyone knows what their job is.

The aforementioned absences of Bilaver and Ivancic will surely be problematic. The latter striker will certainly be missed, as he is very hard to mark. This is a huge handicap for the visitors, since they haven't got adequate substitutes on the bench.   

Every series of performances comes to an end, but I believe that the series of bad offensive performances will extend for couple of more matches for both teams. Both Osijek and Zadar scored under one goal per game in average this season. Osijek scored only once in the last five rounds (in stoppage time and the goal was scored from offside) and the same stands for Zadar. So, today we will see two teams on the pitch that have scored a total of 2 goals in the last 10 matches. Osijek's defense conceded lots of goals on couple of occasions. But, that only happened in the away matches against the toughest teams in the league. Zadar failed to score a single goal in three out of five of their last away matches. A lot is at stake for both of the teams. Osijek is harmless in the attack and Zadar signed a couple of good defenders this summer. Zadar's coach Ferdo Milin repeated on couple of occasions that ''every time they don't lose the match, they improve in regard to their rivals in the danger zone''. I expect a very even game without too many goal chances. Forward Ivancic is out for the away team and he was their main threat for the opposition goal, especially from set-pieces. The home team counts on their key player Ljubojevic but Neretljak can hold him back without too much trouble. Arguments against such a bet? Strikers from both teams suddenly start to score, three penalties or mistakes in the defense? Personally, I don't believe any of these scenarios is very likely to happen.