It's early days in the 1. HNL and both Rijeka and Istra 1961 are still hoping for a flying start in order to set the tone for the season. Three points can make a big difference at this stage.
It's no vacation for neither Rijeka nor Istra 1961 as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Rijeka form and stats
As mentioned below, Rijeka are feasting on a winning streak here so far with maximum points from their first 2 1. HNL games.
A nice win for Rijeka last time playing, versus Istra 1961. That was also a home game and the match ended 2-1 with Franko Andrijašević (2) scoring for the victors. A defeat was the result before that one, 0-1 away at Lokomotiva Zagreb.
At Stadion HNK Rijeka, Rijeka has the goal stats of 4-2 (for/against) from 2 league fixtures.
Istra 1961 form and stats
It's not happening yet for Istra 1961 on their 1. HNL travels, with zero points from their first 2 away games. Maybe today will be different? Three has not been a lucky number for Istra 1961 as they have been defeated three times in a row since the Hajduk Split match. With two straight losses from their last two away games, Istra are hoping that it's time for some travel points again.
Two away games in a row for Istra, who will hope to get a better result in this one after losing 1-2 versus Rijeka in the 1. HNL. The game before that, was lost at home, a 0-1 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb.
With the home team given a winning probability of about 80% by the bookmakers, any positive result for the visitors would be a surprise. Checking earlier matches with similar odds with Istra 1961 as the away team, we found seven results. Statistics from these were zero away wins, zero draws and seven defeats. The outsiders lost six of these games by at least two goals.
As for goals scored and conceded in the league games away so far, Istra 1961 has managed 1 goal and let in 4 from 2 matches.
Head 2 Head
The dueling parties have met before this season: Rijeka - Istra 1961 2-1. Last ten meetings between the teams: Rijeka won nine, Istra 1961 won zero and one draw. eight games with over 2,5 goals, two matches with two goals or less.Top Goalscorers
  R. Murić 1 goals |  S. Yateke 1 goals |   G. Guzina 1 goals |
Rijeka missing players
Istra 1961 missing players
| Rijeka | Istra 1961 | ||||||
| Total | Home | vs | Statistics | Stat | vs | Away | Total |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Played | P | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Won | W | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | Drew | D | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Lost | L | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | Scored | S | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Conceded | C | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| 67% | 100% | 100% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 0% | 100% | 67% |
| 67% | 100% | 100% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 0% | 50% | 33% |
| 0% | 0% | 0% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 0% | 0% | 0% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 67% | 100% | 100% | BTTS | BTTS | 0% | 50% | 33% |
| 0% | 0% | 0% | Clean Sheets | C S | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 33% | 0% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 0% | 50% | 67% |
| 6 | 5.5 | 9 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 3 | 2.3 |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 3.5 | 4 |
| 2.3 | 3 | 3 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 0 | 1 | 2.3 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 26 | 13 | Total Shots | T S | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 17 | 11 | 5 | Shots on Target | S O | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 24% | 36% | 40% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 0% | 100% | 25% |
- Istra 1961 has the most matches under the total-line (2)
- Rijeka has the most points (6) at home
| Rijeka | Last season | Istra 1961 | |||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 36 | 18 | Played | P | 18 | 36 | ||
| 19 | 10 | Won | W | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Drew | D | 2 | 10 | ||
| 10 | 3 | Lost | L | 15 | 21 | ||
| 58 | 32 | Scored | S | 7 | 27 | ||
| 42 | 21 | Conceded | C | 35 | 59 | ||
| 94% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 94% | 92% | ||
| 78% | 89% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 78% | 75% | ||
| 53% | 50% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 33% | 39% | ||
| 33% | 33% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 11% | 22% | ||
| 17% | 17% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 11% | 8% | ||
| 50% | 67% | BTTS | BTTS | 22% | 39% | ||
| 33% | 28% | Clean Sheets | C S | 11% | 19% | ||
| 22% | 6% | Failed to Score | F T | 72% | 50% | ||
| 5.3 | 5.4 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 3.4 | 3.8 | ||
| 4.3 | 3.3 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.5 | 5.5 | ||
| 2 | 1.8 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2.3 | 2.3 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Red cards | R C | 3 | 4 | ||
| 424 | 214 | Total Shots | T S | 163 | 350 | ||
| 176 | 94 | Shots on Target | S O | 67 | 135 | ||
| 33% | 34% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 10% | 20% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Gorica | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | Hajduk Split | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Rijeka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Varazdin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 3 |
| 6 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -5 | 3 |
| 7 | Osijek | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 |
| 8 | Slaven Koprivnica | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 |
| 9 | Sibenik | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
| 10 | Istra 1961 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
| Last season | Total | Home | Away | ||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Dinamo Zagreb | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 62 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 11 | 42 | 80 |
| 2 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 57 | 38 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 38 | 16 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 22 | 19 | 65 |
| 3 | Rijeka | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 58 | 42 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 21 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 64 |
| 4 | Osijek | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 47 | 29 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 62 |
| 5 | Hajduk Split | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 60 | 41 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 19 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 60 |
| 6 | Gorica | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 48 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 34 | -4 | 49 |
| 7 | Slaven Koprivnica | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 34 | 51 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 35 | -17 | 39 |
| 8 | Varazdin | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 29 | 50 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | -21 | 36 |
| 9 | Istra 1961 | 36 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 27 | 59 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 24 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 35 | -32 | 25 |
| 10 | Inter Zapresic | 36 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 32 | 72 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 35 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 37 | -40 | 17 |