HNK Rijeka vs Hajduk Split Preview 26/05/2022
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The Croatian Cup Final will kick off on Friday with rivals HNK Rijeka facing off with HNK Hajduk Split. The final will feature two teams from the Croatian domestic football top-flight league.
Rijeka reached the final thanks to a 2-1 semifinal win over Gorica. The game wasn’t as close as the scoreline indicates as Gorica’s lone goal came during the second half stoppage-time.
“Bit će spektakl, a nadam se da ćemo pokazati da je Kup naše natjecanje, koje nam leži. Imamo razloga za optimizam”
? Danas vam predstavljamo formalnog domaćina finala @SuperSportWeb Hrvatskog kupa, momčad @NKRijeka!
? https://t.co/0ToYisixUy#HRKup pic.twitter.com/iUcsIiMS91
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) May 24, 2022
Hajduk Split reached the final of the Croatian Cup after winning in extra-time versus Osijek. The game saw Osijek score in second half stoppage-time to force extra-time.
There, Split’s Mikhail Merkulov scored just before the end of the overtime period to send the team through.
Split were the better team over the course of the league season. They finished second in the Croatian top flight and seven points higher than fourth-place Rijeka.
While Split lost on the final day of the season, Rijeka claimed an end of the campaign win.
Rijeka posted a 1-0 win over relegated Hrvatski Dragovoljac to end the season. Split lost 3-1 to league winner Dinamo Zagreb.
Prior to their end of the season loss, Hajduk Split went 14 games without a loss. Split hold a head-to-head advantage over Rijeka with four wins against just two losses.
Rijeka are six-time winners of the Croatian Cup. Their most recent Croatian Cup was won during the 2019-20 season. Split have also won the trophy on six occasions. Their last win was during the 2012-13 season.
Although the match will be played in Split, Rijeka will be home team on the scoreboard. Rijeka are led in goals by Josip Drmic with 21 goals in the Croatian top flight. Robert Muric added 11 goals while Haris Vuckic scored 10 times.
Marko Livaja leads Split in goals this season with 28 in the domestic league. Twelve of Livaja’s goals have come from the penalty spot this season.
Rijeka and Hadjuk Split played four times during the league season in 2021-22. Surprisingly, the away team won all four matches. Rijeka went to Split and claimed wins twice.
Remember, this game is being played in Split and Rijeka are not afraid to go away and win there. Rijeka should pick up a narrow victory with both teams scoring.
The Croatian Cup Final should finish 2-1 in favour of Rijeka as they claim a seventh tournament trophy.
The last two Rijeka wins in Split finished with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals.
