Perhaps a welcome break from league football as Istra 1961 & Rijeka face off to decide who makes it to next stage of the Croatia Cup. All the pre-match information is available here!
It’s busy days for these teams as both were in action only a few days ago. There’s no rest for the wicked, or in this case; no rest for Istra 1961 and Rijeka.
Istra 1961 form and stats
Istra was eliminated in the 2nd round last season in the Croatia Cup.Overall 1. HNL stats at home this season for Istra 1961 are 5-1-8 (wins-draw-losses). This match is a Croatia Cup match, and the hometeam has the total statistics 3 wins, 0 draws and 0 losses in this competition. Istra are very eager to stop a potential losing streak at Stadion Aldo Drosina, having lost their two previous games here.
Istra are anxiously hoping for a goal as it's been 225 minutes since the last one in league fixtures. (Scored by S. Grzan).
Ahead of that match, Istra lost 0-2 at home to Osijek.
There's a new game coming up fairly quickly for Istra as they are travelling to their away game against Dinamo Zagreb in the 1. HNL. That match is four days after this one.
Istra aren't scoring a lot here at Stadion Aldo Drosina in the league, with only 13 goals from 14 games. On the other hand, Istra 1961 have conceded 18 goals.
Rijeka form and stats
Nothing but glory last season for Rijeka, as they won the Croatia Cup.Playing away, Rijeka have won 7 games, drawn 1 and suffered 6 defeats in the 1. HNL this season. Total Croatia Cup statistics for Rijeka: 3 wins, 0 draws and 0 losses. The fact that Rijeka have won four matches in a row should scare the hosts and makes this contest more interesting. Rijeka have won three away matches in a row now and will not be intimidated by being the visitors in this fixture.
Rijeka play their second away game in a row, but can be confident going into this one after the 1-0 victory visiting Sibenik. Preceding that game was the away 1. HNL victory against Gorica with the score of 4-3.
A new game in only three days for Rijeka, the 1. HNL home match versus Lokomotiva Zagreb. Busy days.
Scoring goals is the main ingredient in creating success in football, and not only at home. So far Rijeka have scored 18 goals in 14 league games away. It's worth mentioning that 10 of these goals has been scored in their last three away matches. Rijeka have conceded 20 goals in these away matches. There's been improvement defensively lately, as only 2 of these goals has been conceded in their last 3 away matches.
Head 2 Head
H2H stats regardless of arena (last ten matches): Istra zero wins, one draw and Rijeka nine victories. As for goals, seven matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), three games had two or less.Top Goalscorers
  F. Andrijašević 10 goals |  R. Murić 6 goals |   Š. Gržan 5 goals |
Istra 1961 missing players
Rijeka missing players
| Istra 1961 | Rijeka | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 9 | 6 | Won | W | 8 | 12 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Drew | D | 1 | 5 | ||
| 12 | 6 | Lost | L | 4 | 8 | ||
| 28 | 17 | Scored | S | 20 | 37 | ||
| 31 | 16 | Conceded | C | 16 | 32 | ||
| 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 96% | ||
| 68% | 69% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 77% | 80% | ||
| 40% | 46% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 54% | 52% | ||
| 16% | 23% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 23% | 24% | ||
| 12% | 15% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 15% | 12% | ||
| 44% | 46% | BTTS | BTTS | 54% | 52% | ||
| 24% | 23% | Clean Sheets | C S | 23% | 20% | ||
| 32% | 31% | Failed to Score | F T | 31% | 32% | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.5 | 2.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.7 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 8.8 | 9 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 11.9 | 12.7 | ||
| 3.4 | 3.4 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 5.4 | 5.5 | ||
| 29% | 32% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 31% | 28% | ||
| 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 | 27 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 66 | 23 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 12 | 43 | 64 |
| 2 | Osijek | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 49 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 5 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 16 | 28 | 62 |
| 3 | Gorica | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 51 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 16 | 17 | 49 |
| 4 | Rijeka | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 20 | 2 | 45 |
| 5 | Hajduk Split | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 43 |
| 6 | Slaven Koprivnica | 28 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 32 | 42 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 22 | -10 | 27 |
| 7 | Sibenik | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 38 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 18 | -11 | 27 |
| 8 | Istra 1961 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 42 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 24 | -20 | 24 |
| 9 | Varazdin | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 23 | 47 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 18 | -24 | 24 |
| 10 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 28 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 47 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 26 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 21 | -29 | 20 |