Osijek vs Slaven Belupo Prediction: Slaven Belupo always causes problems at Osijek

Osijek will play the last game of the first part of the season in front of their fans at the Opus Arena against Slaven Belupo, on Sunday, December 17, at 04:30 p.m., and Zoran Zekic's team wishes for the victory they have been waiting for since October 28. In 2023, Osijek did not celebrate even once against Dinamo, Rijeka, or Lokomotiva, but still, Slaven Belupo marked the calendar year of the White and Blue more than any other HNL team. The matches between Osijek and the team from Koprivnica this year often meant a turning point for the Slavonian first league team. Namely, Osijek changed two managers in 2023 after defeats against Slaven Belupo.

Form: DDLDL

The way out of the situation in which the White and Blue found themselves must be found collectively. The goals from the first match between Osijek and Slaven Belupo this season were published on the club's social networks. Then Osijek scored six of them, and the stands shook with euphoria. A few months later, the circumstances are completely different. After six games in a row without a win, the match against Slaven Belupo has a special weight for the White and Blue. At the start of this season, they moved to their new stadium, the expectations were high, and many considered them as title contenders. They are in 5th position, but they are far from where they were predicted to be, and their form is very bad in the last two months.

Form: WLWWD

Twice this year, Slaven Belupo replaced Osijek's coaches, Borimir Perkovic and Stjepan Tomas, who were “victims” of Slaven Belupo’s wins, and this team had the honor and privilege to remain inscribed in the history books of Osijek as the team that played the first match on the new Opus Arena. Slaven Belupo are not very good this season, they are in 8th place, but they showed that they can win against any team in the league. In the last round, they won against Rijeka as visitors 4:2. 

Osijek are under huge pressure at the moment and the upcoming break is coming at the right time for them. This will be a very busy winter break in Osijek as many changes are expected in the team. In this match, a home win is a must for them, but Slaven Belupo are very tricky opponent. I expect a very aggressive approach by the hosts and a match with many goals. There aren’t any major missing players in both teams, so the best lineups are expected although in Osijek there will be changes in the team from the last round as the manager said that not everyone in the team is working hard enough on the field. Slaven Belupo scored 4 goals against Rijeka and won as a huge underdog so the confidence in the team is very high. I think that both teams will score in this match and we will see more than 2.5 goals.