Istra 1961 vs Slaven Belupo Prediction: Can Istra win against anyone?

Istra 1961 and Slaven Belupo will meet in the 14th round of Croatian HNL. Both teams are terrible this season, although Slaven Belupo showed some signs of life in the previous rounds. Rudes are the only worst team in the league, otherwise, these teams will be fighting to avoid relegation. Slaven Belupo were surprisingly knocked out of the Cup last week which only got the situation worse in and around the club. Istra got only a win in 13 matches played in the league and maybe it’s time for them to bring some joy to the fans. 

Form: LDLLW

Istra are in 9th place with 8 points, a win, 5 draws, 7 defeats, goal difference of 10:29. They are winless in their last 6 matches in the league, they managed to win against semi-professional team Zagora in the Cup. The team is in total chaos, even at home they are playing terribly, they got 3 draws and 3 defeats. This time last season they were in the upper part of the table and for a time they were considered a team that could finish in the top 4. However, this season after a terrible transfer period this team struggles in every match, and if Rudes starts to collect points, Istra will be in great danger to be relegated.

Form: LLDWW

Slaven Belupo's manager Roy Ferencina expects his players to make up for their relegation from the Cup ahead of Sunday's visit to Pula. The health situation in Slaven Belupo has improved. Bujar Pllana, Mihail Caimacov, and Filip Hlevnjak are no longer on the list of long-term absences. The defender Pllana arrived this summer and soon injured his shoulder, while Moldovan midfielder Caimacov had muscle problems after returning from his loan at Moscow Torpedo, and the two have not yet played in the new season. The suspended Arber Hoxha will probably be replaced on the left wing by Matej Sakota, for whom it is a natural position. So far, Sakota has mainly been used on the right wing. Slaven Belupo are in 8th position with 13 points and in the last 5 matches they have 2 wins, 2 defeats, and a draw.

In this match both teams are entering with a hope to get a positive score and to calm the situation in the locker rooms at least until the next match. I think the situation is worse in Istra and if they don’t get any points soon, I can see the manager Catala replaced very soon, maybe later today. Slaven Belupo already made that change and the team won in 2 matches, but the defeat in the Cup once again disrupted the energy in the club. In their h2h matches we can see a lot of draw matches with little goas, but today I can see them both scoring since they got weak defenses and both teams will attack to get the most needed 3 points.