Hajduk Split vs Osijek Prediction: Difficult time for these teams

Hajduk and Osijek will play a match of the fifth round of the SuperSport HNL on Saturday at 21:45 at Poljud. Osijek are currently playing a disastrous season. They have only one point after four rounds and are in the penultimate place. Behind them are only Slaven. Hajduk have two wins and two draws in four games, with the fact that they have not yet played against Dinamo or Rijeka. This match should be a derby, but both teams are playing in very bad form and below any expectations.

Form: DWLDD

Hajduk are in a turbulent period in which Ivan Perišić left the club after only a few games played. However, they have not registered a single defeat in the HNL yet and have a record of two wins and two draws. It's hard to say whether they can be satisfied with that because Dinamo are already slowly moving away from the competition in the first place. The fans weren’t expecting such a bad start of the season after Rakitic and Gattuso joined the club this summer, and now the pressure is only growing from round to round.

Form: LDDLD

The White and Blue will be looking for their first championship victory this season - at Poljud. Only one point won in four rounds, and Osijek have not had a weaker entry into the season in the last ten years - before the match in Split, it puts quite an imperative on the Blue and Whites. I expect a change in the lineup, and much will depend on the health of Pusic, Jurisic, and Mkrtcjan, who complained of injuries, and captain Jugovic, who had the flu, as well as the state of the quartet who signed for Osijek in the last few days. Dantas, Hernani, and Tuia managed to complete only two training sessions and Jakupovic none. Moreover, the Austrian representative joined the team only in Split, 24 hours before the match in which he could make his debut. Very difficult and stressful time for everyone on the team and their fans.

For this match, I decided to play on Hajduk to win. Osijek are simply playing very badly and it is hard to imagine how they could improve their game overnight to the extent that they are celebrating today in Split against Hajduk in front of a full stadium. Hajduk are struggling, but they certainly have enough quality and experience to play and win under pressure.