For our Turkey vs Croatia Prediction, we are predicting a draw.
The second matchday of Group D sees Turkey host Croatia with the home side looking to capitalise on their opening day result. The former World Cup finalists have already lost ground in the race for qualification with the last-minute draw away at Wales.
Turkey embarked on their first game since the national earthquake in a game against regional rivals Armenia, in what was a closely contested match between the two adversaries. Turkey emerged as the victors in a 2-1 away from home, thanks to goals from Orkun Kökçü and Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu.
The win over Armenia gave head coach Stefan Kuntz a vital victory to start proceedings.
Kuntz, who is a former European champion with his native Germany, has guided Turkey to ten wins in their last 15 games. Group D will likely consist of Wales, Turkey and Croatia as the contenders, with Lithuania and Armenia making up the numbers.
Kuntz has seemingly driven Turkey back on track. The hosts recently achieved promotion to League Phase B of the UEFA Nations League. Turkey also missed out on Qatar via the playoffs, thanks to a defeat by Portugal.
Orkun Kökçü will be key to Turkey's chances against Croatia. The Feyenoord midfielder has 14 goal contributions as the Dutch side is currently top of the Eredivisie.
Since the defeat against Portugal, the home side has only lost once in their last nine games. Turkey can take charge of this group with a win over group rivals Croatia. The last time the two teams faced each other resulted in a 3-3 draw. A bad omen bestows the home side as Croatia has only lost two of their last ten encounters with the hosts.
Croatia will look to continue their good form over their opponents following their dropped points on the opening day. The away side was on course to secure victory thanks to Andrej Kramaric, but Nathan Broadhead equalised for Wales.
Despite the late equaliser, Croatia's form in European qualifiers is impeccable. The visitors have won 34 of their previous 35 qualifying games, which is remarkable. Interestingly, they have won 14 of their last 15 competitive games, with their only defeat coming against eventual World Champions Argentina.
Croatia has a far better record at the World Cup than the European Championships. The away side has qualified for every European Championship except the tournament in 2000, with their best showing being a quarter-final.
Croatia's squad does provide a wonderful balance of youth and experience. The squad is still heavily relying on the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic whilst taking chances on the likes of Josip Sutalo and Josko Gvardiol.
Their last victory came against Morocco in the third-place playoff, thanks to goals from Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic.
