Week 32 brings us a match on Apr 23rd, where Rijeka hosts Osijek at Stadion Hnk Rijeka in a clash of these two evenly matched 1. HNL teams. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 12 degrees, which should make for a nice day for football. 4th placed Rijeka is fresh off their 1-2 loss against Lokomotiva Zagreb. Luka Stojkovic struck first for Lokomotiva Zagreb in the 38th minute on a feed from Mateo Marić, then Kacavenda added another in the 46th minute on a feed from Luka Stojkovic. Rijeka is looking for direction having 5 win and 5 losses in their last 10 matches, while osijek is fresh off their 2-1 win against Hrvatski Dragovoljac. Mihael Zaper scored the first goal for Osijek in the 3rd minute, then N. Galesic tied it up for Hrvatski Dragovoljac in the 32nd minute. Osijek is on a hot streak lately, with 7 wins in their last 10 matches.
In their last match together, in Stadion Gradski Vrt, Osijek won by a score of 1 to 0. Sava-Arangel Cestic scored the first goal for Osijek on an own goal in the 85th minute, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Rijeka was frustrated by Osijek’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Osijek ended the match with the shutout victory.
Mihret Topcagic has been the most effective weapon for Osijek lately. The attacker has netted two goals in his last five matches. Rijeka’s most prolific scorer has been Haris Vučkić. He has netted two goals over the last 5 matches.