Rijeka vs Slaven Belupo Prediction: Will Rijeka remain the only undefeated team in Croatia?

Rijeka and Slaven Belupo will play their last match this year on Sunday at 5 pm at the HNK Rijeka stadium. This will be the 89th match between these two teams in the best Croatian League HNL, of which 41 ended with a win for Rijeka, 30 in a draw, and 17 with a win for Slaven Belupo, scoring a total of 131 goals and conceding 77. Rijeka have achieved 26 wins on home turf, at the Kantrida and HNK Rijeka stadiums in Rujevica. However, the statistics ahead of Sunday's match will mean little, Slaven Belupo are currently in the best form in the HNL and will certainly be looking for their chances to trump and a way to repeat the end of last half-season when they return to Koprivnica form Rijeka with full spoils.

Form: DWWDD

Radomir Djalovic and his players, thanks to the games they have played and the results they have achieved, make the Whites the only undefeated team in the HNL, and the goal against Slaven Belupo, as the coach clearly emphasized at the press conference ahead of the clash with Slaven, is to conclude the autumn part of the season with a victory. However, Rijeka have huge problems with injuries ahead of the 18th round. In the derby against Hajduk at Poljud, they were left without goalkeeper Martin Zlomislic, who suffered a concussion, and 18-year-old Domagoj Ivan Maric stepped in to take his place. He saved the net but is injured, too, which means that coach Djalovic will have to rely on 16-year-old Vit Kovac. This is a great talent from Rijeka’s football academy who has come under the radar of major European clubs with his great saves, and negotiations have reportedly gone so far that he is on the verge of a transfer to RB Leipzig for a million. In any case, this situation in Rijeka is unprecedented. Rijeka have the same number of points as Hajduk at the top of the table 33, but a much better goal difference, and with a win here they will remain in 1st place during the winter break.

Form: WDWWW

Slaven Belupo have had a good team from the beginning, and with the arrival of a new coach, they are playing excellently. The results speak for themselves, they are good in all positions, and they also have good, experienced, and fast players. However, they also enter this match with a lot of problems with their players. Many players are out of the game, and left-back Luka Lucic and striker Ilija Nestorovski will be out because of accumulated yellow cards. Unfortunately, Liber and the others who were injured earlier have not recovered. Bosec, who is in very good shape, has problems with his knee and is currently unfit to play in the match. Slaven Belupo are in 6th place with 20 points, and they are undefeated in their last eight matches in all competitions, which is the reason for the optimism and hopes their fans have before this match.

Rijeka and Slaven Belupo are connected by an impressive constellation of footballers who have worn the jersey of both clubs, from Kristijan Cavalo, Rijeka's record holder for the number of appearances in the HNL (196 appearances), to Dalibor Viskovic, considered by many to be one of the best left-backs in the recent history of Rijeka. Rijeka and Slaven Belupo are connected by some other interesting facts, such as the fact that Rijeka has its longest unbeaten streak in the HNL against Slaven Belupo, which lasted 31 games from May 5, 2012, to June 21, 2020. However, this match is very different from before, mostly because of Slaven’s good form. I expect a very tough match, but goals from both teams, mostly because the managers will make many rotations in the squads and maybe try different formations than before. In the end I believe that Rijeka will win in front of their fans and remain the only undefeated team in the league.