Croatia vs Albania Predictions and Betting Tips: Sylvinho's Side Can ...

After losing their opening matches of the tournament, neither Croatia nor Albania have any real room for error going into their meeting at Volksparkstadion on Wednesday.

Croatia vs Albania Betting Tips

• Double Chance - Albania or Tie @ +162 with bet365
• Rey Manaj to score or assist @ +275 with bet365
• Under nine corners in the match @ +100 with bet365

All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.

Albania can cause a shock in Hamburg

World Cup semi-finalists Croatia were resoundingly beaten 3-0 by Spain in their Group B opener and there are signs that this may be one major tournament too far for Zlatko Dalic's squad.

Vatreni have now lost three of their last five competitive internationals, as many defeats as they suffered in 29 such games before that, with their loss to Spain following setbacks against Turkey and Wales towards the end of their qualifying campaign.

Albania gave a decent account of themselves against Italy, scoring the fastest goal in European Championship history after just 23 seconds through Nedim Bajrami, before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat.

That was the first competitive loss Sylvinho's side have suffered for well over a year after they impressively topped their qualifying group ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland.

There was enough in both teams’ performances on Saturday to suggest Albania can, at the very least, take a point from this contest, which would keep alive their hopes of making it through to the knockout stage of a major international tournament for the first time in their history.

Croatia vs Albania Tip 1: Double Chance - Albania or Tie @ +162 with bet365

Manaj Can Make an Impact

Aside from their record-breaking early goal against Italy, Albania lacked a cutting edge in Saturday's match until substitute Rey Manaj came off the bench and almost grabbed a late equalizer.

The Sivasspor striker may have done enough in his cameo appearance to earn a start against Croatia and he is certainly a player in form, as he scored 18 goals in this season's Turkish Super Lig - only Mauro Icardi and Edin Dzeko registered more.

Manaj had 25 goal involvements across all competitions for his club during 2023/24 and even if he has to make do with a substitute role in Hamburg, he is more than capable of making an impact.

Croatia vs Albania Tip 2: Rey Manaj to score or assist @ +275 with bet365

Corners Could Be at a Premium

Despite having more possession, shots and touches in the opposition penalty box than Spain, Croatia did not win a single corner during their tournament opener.

Albania did not fare much better in that department, earning just three against Italy, and out of the 53 teams who participated in qualifying for this summer's tournament, only seven won fewer corners than the Red and Blacks.

Sylvinho's side averaged just 2.6 corners per game during qualifying, while Croatia's 5.8 was hardly a standout, which makes backing under nine to be taken by these two sides combined on Wednesday appear a shrewd bet.

Croatia vs Albania Tip 3: Under nine corners in the match @ +100 with bet365