- Hajduk Split have won three of their last five, drawing one and losing one.
- NK Varazdin have won two of their last five, drawn one and lost two.
- Varazdin won the reverse H2H two months ago in the HNL 2025-2026, beating Hajduk Split 2-0 at home.
Garcia’s Hajduk are leading the way
Hajduk Split, led by coach Gonzalo Garcia since July 2025, have been setting the pace at the top of the Croatian top division. The 29 points they have accrued from 14 games is enough for them to be worthy title contenders. In our HNK Hajduk Split vs NK Varazdin prediction, this strong points tally underlines their impressive form.
Garcia has immediately imprinted a high tempo, possession-based style on the club and Hajduk are aggressive in their pressing when out of possession.
The hosts are scoring an average of 1.86 goals per game at home and conceding only 0.71 in return in HNL 2025/2026 games at Poljud, so their home form is strong, but Varazdin will surely challenge them here.
Disciplined Varazdin should offer a challenge
Sitting fourth in the HNL 2025/2026 with 19 points from 14 games, Varazdin have been solid without being spectacular. Under coach Nikola Safaric, who took over in December 2023, the club has been built around a disciplined, structured approach.
Varazdin typically set up in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation that allows them to protect their defensive shape when out of possession while creating a strong platform for their young, talented players to build from.
Aleksa Latkovic leads their attack with four goals in 14 HNL matches, but according to this HNK Hajduk Split vs NK Varazdin preview, they should still pose a threat to Hajduk’s defence here as Luka Skaricic has also chipped in with two in their last five.
Sides set to clash in contrasting styles
Varazdin are 6.28 long shots to win this clash, but Hajduk Split are a low-odds 1.54 favorites, which justifies their dominance in the Croatian game. However, Varazdin are a well-run club that should have a clear game plan for this and their 2-0 win over Hajduk a couple of months ago, plus a 1-0 home win over Rijeka, suggest they can at least make this a competitive game. This is why our HNK Hajduk Split vs NK Varazdin betting tips focus on the likelihood of an open and attacking match.
Hajduk should win this and their home record, attacking firepower and bookies odds justify supporting them to do so, but the best play here could be over 2.5 goals at 2.04.
Garcia’s style should win the day
This fixture represents a battle between Garcia’s developing Hajduk identity and Safaric’s more stable Varazdin project.
The hosts will look to dominate possession, rotate their front three and get high up the field to press, while Varazdin will look to remain compact and counterattack in numbers when they lose the ball.
The clash of Hajduk’s tempo and fluidity with Varazdin’s structure and counter-press will be fascinating and the game could be decided by which team makes better use of the transition opportunities. The final HNK Hajduk Split vs NK Varazdin prediction is that Hajduk's high-octane style should ultimately be decisive in this high-stakes encounter.
