France will be looking to make it two wins from their first two Group 3 games in the UEFA Nations League when they continue their 2020-21 campaign at home to Croatia on Tuesday night.
Didier Deschamps's side recorded a 1-0 win over Sweden in their tournament opener last time out, while Croatia suffered a heavy 4-1 loss to holders Portugal to drop to the bottom of the section.
Match preview
© Reuters
France were far from their best against Sweden on Saturday night, but a first-half goal from Kylian Mbappe ensured that the world champions would collect all three points in Solna.
Les Bleus picked up seven points from their four matches against the Netherlands and Germany in the 2018-19 UEFA Nations League but failed to advance as they finished second in the section.
Deschamps's side breezed through their Euro 2020 qualification campaign, though, winning eight of their 10 matches, picking up 25 points to finish at the summit, and there is no question that the 2018 World Cup winners will be amongst the favourites to triumph in next summer's tournament.
A victory against Croatia on Tuesday night would lead France nicely into next month's home game against Portugal, who will also fancy their chances of topping this particular section.
© Reuters
As mentioned, Croatia opened their 2020-21 campaign with a 4-1 defeat to Portugal on Saturday night, which means that there is more pressure on them to pick up a result in this match.
It is a big ask for Vatreni to top this section, but a positive result against France would put them in a decent position ahead of their next game in the group at home to Sweden on October 11.
Like Les Bleus, Croatia will also be present at next summer's European Championships, having finished top of Group E, picking up 17 points from their eight matches during a strong qualification campaign.
Zlatko Dalic's side have now won just one of their five UEFA Nations League games, though, having failed to make an impression in the 2018-19 edition, finishing bottom of League A Group 4.
Croatia and France famously last locked horns in the 2018 World Cup final, with Deschamps's side running out 4-2 winners in Moscow to lift the trophy for the second time.
France Nations League form: DWWLW
France form (all competitions): WWDWWW
Croatia Nations League form: LDWLL
Croatia form (all competitions): DWDWWL
Team News
© Reuters
France will be without the services of Mbappe for Tuesday's contest as the Paris Saint-Germain attacker has been forced to withdraw from the squad after testing positive for coronavirus.
Mbappe immediately left the national team upon receiving the news and his absence could open the door for Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial to start in the final third of the field.
Deschamps said ahead of the clash with Sweden that he wanted to "work on several tactical schemes" before the Euros, and the world champions lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation in Solna.
Paul Pogba and Tanguy Ndombele were both forced to withdraw from the France squad ahead of the Sweden match after testing positive for coronavirus, meaning that Adrien Rabiot could again be given the chance to make his mark in midfield alongside N'Golo Kante.
There could be an alteration at left wing-back with Ferland Mendy potentially replacing Lucas Digne, while Wissam Ben Yedder could take the place of Olivier Giroud in attack.
Clement Lenglet is also pushing for a spot in central defence, with Presnel Kimpembe potentially dropping out as PSG will open their Ligue 1 campaign on Thursday night.
As for Croatia, Dalic is expected to make changes from the side that started against Portugal, with Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic likely to come into the starting XI.
Neither Luka Modric nor Ivan Rakitic are in the squad for the 2018 World Cup finalists, meaning that Brozovic could join Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic in a two in the middle of the park.
Andrej Kramaric is the second leading goalscorer in the squad behind Perisic, and the 29-year-old is again expected to lead the line with support from Nikola Vlasic.
France possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Upamecano, Varane, Lenglet; Dubois, Kante, Rabiot, Mendy; Griezmann; Martial, Ben Yedder
Croatia possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Jedvaj, Lovren, Vida, Barisic; Kovacic, Brozovic; Rebic, Vlasic, Perisic; Kramaric
We say: France 2-0 Croatia
A full-strength Croatia are certainly capable of upsetting France, but the visitors will again be missing some key players for this contest. France were not at their best against Sweden last time out; the world champions came through the contest with three points, though, and we fancy them to secure another victory here.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:-Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a France win with a probability of 53.81%. A draw had a probability of 24.2% and a win for Croatia had a probability of 21.97%.
The most likely scoreline for a France win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.76%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.88%) and 2-1 (9.67%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.51%), while for a Croatia win it was 0-1 (6.86%). The actual scoreline of 4-2 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that France would win this match.
Portugal
Croatia
Poland
Scotland
France
Italy
Belgium
Israel
Germany
Netherlands
Hungary
Bosnia H'vina
Spain
Denmark
Serbia
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Georgia
Albania
Ukraine
England
Greece
Rep. Ireland
Finland
Norway
Austria
Slovenia
Kazakhstan
Turkey
Wales
Iceland
Montenegro
Sweden
Slovakia
Estonia
Azerbaijan
Romania
Kosovo
Cyprus
Lithuania
N. Ireland
Bulgaria
Belarus
Luxembourg
N. Macedonia
Armenia
Faroe Islands
Latvia
Gibraltar
San Marino
Liechtenstein
Moldova
Malta
Andorra
