Varazdin vs Slaven Belupo Prediction: Can Slaven Belupo recover from heavy defeat?

Varazdin and Slaven Belupo open the second round of the SuperSport HNL on Friday starting at 9 p.m. Varazdin started the new season better by saving a point at Gorica, while Slaven suffered a heavy defeat in Osijek, so the home team rightfully enter this match as favorites. These teams are predicted to be part of the lower part of the table, and possible to fight to avoid relegation, so every point is priceless for them.

Form: DWWWL

Many players left Varazdin in this transfer window, led by the best player Toni Teklic, who achieved a record transfer to Trabzonspor. The club reacted and brought in new reinforcements for deficit positions, and the "Blue Diamond" and former Hajduk kid Ante Vukusic stand out as the leading name among the new faces. With the old manager, but with a new lineup, Varazdin embarked on a new odyssey with a visit to Gorica, where we watched two opposite halves. In the first, Varazdin were completely outplayed and Gorica deservedly took the lead, but in the final 45 minutes, they retreated too much into their half and conceded an equalizing goal ten minutes before the end.

Form: LLDDD

The biggest change at Slaven in the pre-season happened on the bench where Zoran Zekic was replaced by foreigner Ricardo Moniz. He had a rough start last weekend at the opening of Osijek's new stadium, where the home team was highly motivated and won a big celebration in a rhapsody of as much as 6:1. As far as the team is concerned, Slaven Belupo changed almost half of the first line-up because a certain number of players left the team, but this team brought and some new names, which so far have not shown their true value. The absence of two important names, Lamina Ba and Domagoj Drozdek, creates an even greater weight for Slaven, so they could be satisfied with even one point in the always difficult away game in Varazdin.

Both teams changed their lineups, but Varazdin seems to be the team in better condition so far. The home team are justified favorites before this match, but despite the absences and the fact that the dice are still stacked in the guest's squad, we would not write off Slaven Belupo. Since with the new manager, Slaven conceded as many as six goals in the opening game, they will surely pay a lot of attention to the defense in the preparation and in the game itself, while on the other hand, Varazdin does not have enough quality for the fluttering game they showed at the beginning of last season. That's why the most optimal option for betting seems to be less goals, and home win.