Cameroon and Croatia will both be looking to recover from defeats in their opening Group A fixtures when the two sides meet in Manaus on Wednesday night.

For Croatia, it was the hosts who stood in the way on the first night of the tournament as they suffered a 3-1 loss to Brazil in a match which sparked angry responses from the players and head coach Niko Kovac after Fred won a controversial penalty for Luiz Felipe Scolari's side.

Despite the frustration, Kovac's side received a boost ahead of their clash with Cameroon thanks to the news that Luka Modric is likely to play a full part after picking up a foot injury in the opener, while the return of Mario Mandzukic from suspension provides another attacking option.

Mexico proved to be too strong for Cameroon last Friday, with Oribe Peralta's strike condemning the Indomitable Lions to a crucial defeat in their opening game.

Cameroon will be without one of their own key players, with Samuel Eto'o confirming that he will miss the meeting with the Croatians due to a knee problem.

Pierre Webo is expected to be named as the replacement for Eto'o in a game which could see one of the two sides eliminated from the tournament.

Recent form

Cameroon: LWLDWL

Croatia: DWDWWL

Possible starting lineups

Cameroon: Itandje; Djeugoue, N'Koulou, Matip, Bedimo; M'Bia, Song, Enoh; Moukandjo, Choupo-Moting, Eto'o

Croatia: Pletikosa; Srna, Corluka, Lovren, Vrsaljko; Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Kovacic; Olic, Jelavic

Sports Mole says: 0-2

Written by
Callum Mulvihill

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