Finland vs Croatia Prediction & Betting Tips - Euro Volley

Prediction published on 29/08/2023, 08:10  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 31/08/2023 at 06:50 in Euro Volley Predictions

Finland begin their Men's European Volleyball Championship with a match against Croatia. This is in Pool B with the other countries to play being Buglaria, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine. The top four qualify for the next round and the Finns are outsiders to get through. They have made the last 16 of the two previous European Championships held in 2019 and 2021. The last time they got to the last eight was ten years ago. They come into these European Championships ranked 21st in the world and that' ten places higher than their opponents. Their two most recent matches have been against world number 15 Germany with both being lost. Before that they got a 3-1 win over Estonia who are ranked seven places below Croatia. Four of their last five matches have ended in defeat and their qualification hopes in this pool do not look good.

The Croatians reached the last 16 in the 2019 European Championships but had missed out on the two previous tournaments. They have won their last two matches before this tournament with victories against the Czech Republic and Denmark. Before that they had a poor run in the Golden European League with five defeats in seven matches. The current form does indicate that they are capable of giving Finland a good match in this Pool B opening fixture. Handicap betting is always a good option to look at and we go for Croatia to win this match on a +1.5 handicap.