Rijeka players travel to face Karlovac 1919 on Wednesday at 18:00 in the SuperSport Croatian Cup quarter-final. The hosts are a first-division team, but from the second tier of competition, while Rijeka is one of only five clubs to have won the Rabuzinovo sunce. The match will be broadcast on MaxSport 1.
Ahead of the game, Rijeka assistant coach Mate Maleš stated that Karlovac 1919 is a club with tradition. He highlighted that Igor Pamić is a good and experienced manager who knows both the Croatian Cup and the league. According to Maleš, Karlovac 1919 has many young and experienced quality players who can be dangerous.
"It is up to us to detect all of this and try to control it," Maleš said. He added that the Cup is a specific competition and that lower-league clubs always have their moment and can spring a surprise. He emphasised that Karlovac 1919 players are maximally motivated, and it is up to Rijeka to impose themselves.
Rijeka's goal is a win and progression to the semi-finals. In the current part of the competition, Dinamo is first and so far the only team to have secured a semi-final spot. Otherwise, Dinamo has been Cup winners 18 times, Hajduk seven times, Rijeka six times, while Osijek and Zaprešić's Inter were winners once.
The match referee is Ante Terzić from Podstrana. Karlovac 1919 will play in a (4-2-3-1) formation: Bulat, Ribar, Buneta, Tadić, Bett, Šop, Stepinac, Zilinski, Lepinjica, Kapulica, Stipić. Rijeka will play in a (4-2-3-1) formation: Vekić, Lasickas, Živković, Barco, Devetak, Ćubelić, Pavić, Kabadayi, Gojak, Janković, Puljić.
