Osijek vs Istra 1961 Prediction: Osijek are favorite against terrible Istra

Osijek are in solid form in the last few rounds and are a clear favorite in the match against Istra. The guests have not won their last five league games, and the situation in the team is very bad. Just like last season, Osijek plays very changeable. It seems that when they play well they can beat anyone, but often the opposite is true when they play below their potential. Istra are in an extremely bad situation and the only thing that can make them happy is the fact that Rudes are even worse and that they currently have no reason to worry about possible relegation.

Form: WLLWL

Osijek deceived everyone in the friendly matches during the representative break, because after the disastrous performances against Vukovar and Siroki Brijeg in the last round at Poljud, they shocked Hajduk with a clear 2:0 win, with the fact that they did not allow the opponent a single shot in the frame of their goal. New coach Zoran Zekic could not have wished for a better debut. He once again showed what an expert he is in HNL concepts, but in order for that great victory in Split not to fall into the water, Osijek must stay on the winning track this Saturday and use the support of the fans in order to step into the very top of the table with three new points. Osijek are currently in fifth place in the HNL standings with 18 points. Osijek have 5 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses with a goal difference of 26-17. At home, they have 6 wins, one draw, and one loss with a goal difference of 13-5. After five league games without a win, Osijek won the last two, namely 3-0 against Rudes and 2-0 away to Split against Hajduk.

Form: DLLWL

Istra may not look like a completely broken army at the moment, but the situation with them does not look like a fairy tale. They are an unpredictable team with many foreigners that can always be unpleasant, and they proved that in the last round when they managed to stop Rijeka in the mini derby on their home field and scored a very valuable point. Rijeka normally dominated that match and should have taken away the full spoils, but somehow Istra held on like in the first mutual duel with Osijek this season in the fourth round, when in the last moments of the match they annulled Osijek's advantage of 4:2 and deserved a point in crazy to the meeting which ended 4:4. Istra are currently in ninth position in the HNL standings with only eight points won. So far they have achieved one win, 5 draws, and 6 losses with a goal difference of 9-26. After four consecutive defeats in the HNL, Istra managed to win a point in the last game, playing 1-1 against Rijeka at home.

The new coach Zoran Zekic is slowly introducing a new philosophy, composition and formation in Osijek, and his handwriting was clearly visible in Poljud, where the weak Hajduk were completely stopped. The main focus is currently on the defense because it is one of the leakiest in the league, so we expect much better defensive games from Osijek in the coming weeks and matches than we saw before the break. In today's match, they should use the momentum that is on their side and celebrate, so we decided on the combination that the home team will win and that we will see more than three goals in the match.