Croatia conceded just four goals in eight qualifiers
Panama's last six Concacaf qualifiers featured just 13 goals
Recommended bet: Croatia to win & under 2.5 goals @ 2/1 with LiveScore Bet
Both Croatia and Panama suffered defeats in their opening Group L games and will be seeking a bounce back when they clash in Toronto on Wednesday.
Croatia, finalists in 2018 and semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, are expected to account for a Panamanian side that has never earned a point at the World Cup having now played four games.
Thomas Christiansen's men came agonisingly close against Ghana in their opener as they conceded in the 95th minute against a side ranked 25 places below them in the Fifa standings.
The latest Panama vs Croatia odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Team news
Neither of these teams have reported any injury worries following their opening assignments.
Adalberto Carrasquilla was on the bench against Ghana and the 73-cap creative midfielder would offer a significant boost for Panama should he be fit enough to start.
Luka Modric, 40, is set to captain Croatia as he wins his 200th international cap. He gave away a penalty and was withdrawn before the hour mark against England, but should find this game more to his liking with his side likely to dictate matters.
Fellow veteran Ivan Perisic has four assists and two goals in his last five games for club and country, teeing up Petar Musa for the second leveller against England.
The stats
Panama have won just two of their last eight games and are without a clean sheet in that sequence, while they have lost all four matches at World Cups.
Croatia are without a clean sheet in seven games and have conceded the first goal in five of those outings.
Croatia have scored more than two goals in just one of their last 13 World Cup matches.
Zlatko Dalic's side conceded only four goals in eight World Cup qualifiers.
Panama's final qualifying group saw them top the table ahead of Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador, but they scored just nine goals in six games.
The latest Panama vs Croatia odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Croatia twice came from behind in a pulsating first half against England in Arlington last week, but they ran out of puff in the second half as England took control.
Fears about this Croatian side being leg-weary with advancing years were well founded and England had nine shots on target in the second half as Dalic's side were left chasing shadows.
They should, though, be able to dictate the terms of engagement against Panama, with Croatia likely to dominate possession and do plenty of probing.
We have seen the likes of Portugal, Belgium and Turkey falter in such circumstances as they toiled in their attempts to put the ball in the net.
Panama have a poor record against European opponents, conceding nine goals in games against Belgium and England at the 2018 World Cup.
Their wait for a point may go on, with the Ghana game representing a chance missed, but it's unlikely this Croatian side will run riot.
Score prediction: Croatia 2-0 Panama
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