HNK Hajduk Split vs NK Slaven Belupo Prediction: The Pharmacists To Pay Their Dues By Finding The Back Of The Net

HNK Hajduk Split welcomes Slaven Belupo to the Stadion Poljud for their eighth matchday of the Croatian championship in hopes of a more emphatic victory after suffering a disheartening defeat to Osijek on the road the previous time out.

Slaven Belupo comes into this game with a three-match winning streak and will be aiming to quadruple that run against the home team.

Form: LWLWW

The fact that they had been ousted from European competition loomed over them as a dark cloud as they attempted to record a positive result against Osijek in the Croatian championship, but it was futile.

As a result, they suffered a 2:1 loss on the road looking unmotivated and adopting a pointless strategy, making their performance less than convincing for a team that was trying to get back on track.

The fact that both of their goals—including the crucial one that came in the 86th minute, just as they thought they had finally achieved the equalizer they required to draw the game—were overruled by VAR made the contest more suspenseful.

According to the current state of the Croatian Championship standings, they are currently in fourth place with 9 points after having played three matches with wins and two matches with losses.

Form: WWWDD

In addition to their strong preseason performance, which showed them to be in consistent form, the visitors have put on quite an excellent performance since the season's beginning. They have been competitive and show indications of consistency.

Even though their recent game against NK Lokomotiva Zagreb wasn't one of their best performances on the road, they were nevertheless thrilled to earn three points and achieve a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a late brace from Mateo Kocijan in the 80th minute.

A team that was already underestimated due to their previous season, in which they finished seventh in the standings with 36 points, has won three straight games. This has unquestionably been nothing but a show of raw strength in character.

Their performance has definitely paid off for them as they now hold down second place in the rankings on 14 points, topping HNK Hajduk Split by a five-point difference. They have only lost one of their last seven games—to Dinamo Zagreb.

• The last four away games in the Croatian championship have seen Slaven Belupo go without a defeat.
• HNK Hajduk Split hasn't lost in their last eight home games against Slaven Belupo.
• Slaven Belupo averages 1 goal when playing away, whereas HNK Hajduk Split averages 1.88 goals when playing at home.
• In the Croatian championship, Slaven Belupo has won three straight games.
• There are 2.6 goals scored on average between these two teams when they compete.

Hajduk Split has prevailed in 34 of the last 67 meetings, Slaven Belupo has triumphed in 8 of those meetings, and 25 meetings have ended in draws. Hajduk Split has a goal difference of 102-53 in its favor. 

HNK Hajduk Split has been optimistic since the start of the season, putting aside their brief recent slip in performance. Their distinct playing style has substantially aided in their current position, and it doesn't seem that they will be changing anytime soon.

The same applies for NK Slaven Belupo, who will be attempting to pull off another shocking victory away from home. And despite the fact that they lack offensive prowess, they are adept at finding the back of the net whenever necessary.

Even though NK Slaven Belupo has outperformed HNK Hajduk Split in the Croatian Championship, there may still be symptoms of weakness due to their inability to use the ball creatively, which has led to them creating few to no chances to score.

Given that HNK Hajduk Split have the advantage over the visitors in head-to-head games, a victory for them in this instance should be more than enough to keep the visitors at bay.

• Both Teams To Score (Yes) for 2.02
• 1st Half - W1 for 1.91
• Asian Handicap Hajduk Split -1.0, -1.5 for 1.85