National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Rijeka or Osijek that keep their silverware dream alive.
It's no vacation for neither Rijeka nor Osijek 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
Rijeka was eliminated in the semi-finals last season in the Croatia Cup.The home supporters can't complain about results here at Stadion HNK Rijeka as Rijeka have scored 30 goals to get 29 points from 14 games. The overall stats in the 1. HNL are 9-2-3 (wins-draws-losses).
Ahead of that match, Rijeka won a home game hosting Slaven Koprivnica (3-0).This is expected to be a close game, with Rijeka perhaps considered small favourites due to their home advantage. Looking back at earlier matches similar to this one (expected to be close with Rijeka as a small favourite), we find five games. Rijeka has won two of these, drawn two and lost one.
Rijeka can score goals in their home matches. After 14 league matches they have found the net 30 times. Rijeka's goalkeeper has had to pick the ball out of their own net 17 times. For more goal stats, check the Statistics tab above.
Osijek form and stats
Osijek's mission in Croatia Cup last season failed in the quarter-finals.6 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss. That’s the product of Osijek playing as the away team in the 1. HNL this season.
186 minutes! That's how long the Osijek goalkeeper Ivica Ivusic and his defense have shut out their league opponents.
Preceding that game, the 0-0 draw paying a visit to Lokomotiva Zagreb.So, this is expected to be a close game, an even contest. Looking at earlier matches with Osijek playing away and similar expectations, we found seven relevant matches. Results were three Osijek wins, three draws and one defeat.
The visiting Osijek have scored more than one goal per away game in the league so far. The grand total is 17 goals from 13 games. They concede less than a goal on average per away game (10 so far).
Head 2 Head
The two duelists also met each other previously this season: Rijeka - Osijek 2-2. Head-2-head stats last ten meetings: two - three - five (Rijeka wins - draws - Osijek wins). As for goals, three matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), seven had two or less. The matches between these teams have sometimes been a bit wild, having seen 5 sending-offs from the last ten duels.Top Goalscorers
  J. Drmic 17 goals |  R. Murić 10 goals |  H. Vučkič 5 goals |
Rijeka missing players
Osijek missing players
| Rijeka | Osijek | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 17 | Played | P | 11 | 25 | ||
| 16 | 10 | Won | W | 5 | 16 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Drew | D | 5 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Lost | L | 1 | 2 | ||
| 61 | 44 | Scored | S | 16 | 43 | ||
| 28 | 22 | Conceded | C | 8 | 14 | ||
| 96% | 94% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 73% | 84% | ||
| 84% | 88% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 73% | 72% | ||
| 72% | 82% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 27% | 40% | ||
| 48% | 53% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 27% | 24% | ||
| 36% | 47% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 18% | 8% | ||
| 56% | 65% | BTTS | BTTS | 45% | 40% | ||
| 36% | 35% | Clean Sheets | C S | 55% | 60% | ||
| 12% | 6% | Failed to Score | F T | 27% | 16% | ||
| 5.8 | 7.3 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 5.2 | 6.1 | ||
| 4.7 | 3.6 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 4.8 | 4.3 | ||
| 1.9 | 1.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 3.2 | 2.6 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 9.7 | 10.1 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 9.5 | 11.9 | ||
| 4.5 | 4.6 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 4.5 | 5.7 | ||
| 52% | 53% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 32% | 29% | ||
| 10.9 | 9.5 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 10.7 | 8.5 | ||
| 4.5 | 3.8 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 4.3 | 3.5 | ||
| 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 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 50 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 8 | 32 | 53 |
| 2 | Osijek | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 38 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 53 |
| 3 | Rijeka | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 35 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 18 | 20 | 52 |
| 4 | Hajduk Split | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 47 | 25 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 17 | 22 | 48 |
| 5 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 3 | 33 |
| 6 | Gorica | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 33 | 41 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 16 | -8 | 32 |
| 7 | Slaven Koprivnica | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 21 | -13 | 29 |
| 8 | Sibenik | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 35 | 51 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 30 | -16 | 26 |
| 9 | Istra 1961 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 32 | 51 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 28 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 23 | -19 | 23 |
| 10 | Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 26 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 22 | 62 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 38 | -40 | 10 |
