Analysis and prediction for Croatia vs Montenegro: Home team dominates.

Latest information on the Croatia vs Montenegro team lineups.

Hosts Croatia will need to assess the fitness of Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, and Josip Stanisic after the trio missed the win against Faroe Islands. Luka Modric, the most capped player in the national team's history, was rested in that match and is likely to return to the starting lineup.

Ivan Perisic, another experienced star, is also almost certain to start after coming on as a substitute and playing most of the second half on Friday.

On the Montenegro side, they will be without striker Milutin Osmajic (Preston North End), who withdrew from the squad before the defeat against the Czech Republic. Additionally, Igor Nikic, Risto Radunovic, and Adam Marusic are also absent due to injury.

Striker Stevan Jovetic – Montenegro's all-time leading scorer with 37 goals – will continue to be their biggest hope in attack.

Latest predicted lineups for Croatia vs Montenegro

Croatia:

Livakovic; Jakic, Pongracic, Caleta-Car, Sosa; Modric, Sucic; Perisic, Kramaric, Pasalic; Budimir

Montenegro:

Petkovic; M. Vukcevic, Savic, Vujacic, A. Vukcevic; Jankovic, Bulatovic, Brnovic; Vukotic, Krstovic, Jovetic

Latest football match prediction: Croatia vs Montenegro

Croatia had an impressive start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, winning all three of their opening matches with a combined score of 13-1.

They scored a total of 12 goals in wins against Gibraltar and the Czech Republic, before securing a narrow 1-0 away victory against the Faroe Islands on Friday evening.

Croatia had expected a more emphatic victory, but Andrej Kramaric's first-half goal was enough to secure all three points.

Zlatko Dalic's team currently sits second in Group L, three points behind leaders Czech Republic, but with two games in hand. This advantage makes Croatia the top contender for first place in Group L and a direct qualification spot for the finals.

Having conceded only one goal in three qualifying matches, Croatia will be looking to continue demonstrating their defensive solidity in their first encounter with Montenegro.

The checkered-shirted team is very difficult to beat at home, having gone almost two years without a defeat in a European qualifying match since their loss to Türkiye in October 2023.

Montenegro's hopes of qualifying for their first major tournament as an independent nation are becoming increasingly slim, despite a fairly positive start.

Under the guidance of Robert Prosinecki, Montenegro won two consecutive home matches against Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands. However, they were quickly brought back down to earth with a 0-2 defeat away to the Czech Republic.

Following their friendly draw against Armenia in June, Montenegro entered the next qualifying round aiming for revenge as they hosted the Czech Republic at home.

However, they suffered another 0-2 defeat, leaving Montenegro third in Group L with four games remaining. They are currently three points behind Croatia but have played one more game, and six points behind group leaders Czech Republic after two consecutive losses.

Playing away against Croatia – currently ranked 10th in FIFA – is a huge challenge, especially since Montenegro hasn't won an away game since their victory over Bulgaria in March 2023.

Latest Croatia vs Montenegro score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Croatia vs Montenegroas follows:

• Sportsmole:Croatia 2-0 Montenegro

• WhoScore:Croatia 3-1 Montenegro
• Our newspaper predicts:Croatia 2-0 Montenegro

When and where can I watch Croatia vs Montenegro live?

To watch the Croatia vs Montenegro match live in the World Cup qualifiers at 1:45 AM on September 9th, viewers can tune in to various online sports channels. We wish you enjoyable football viewing moments.