The handball players of Sisak will visit Osijek on Saturday, 10 October, in the fifth round of the Premijer Liga. The match will take place at the Zrinjevac Sports Hall in Osijek, starting at 20:00.
The Sisak handball players will travel for the challenging away match with two points already secured, after one win and three defeats. They are currently in sixth place in their league group.
On Sunday, at 15:30, following a birthday celebration and the international break, a new league match will take place at the Gradski Stadium. Immediately after the friendly match against GNK Dinamo, Segesta will play a league match against GNK Dinamo 2.
Istra 1961 has returned to Pula with a full haul from Poljude on seven occasions. The Pulski club has not suffered a defeat at the Opus Arena in Osijek for almost three years, since 28 October 2023. Osijek won 3-1 on that occasion, with the former captain of Osijek, Vedran Jugović, scoring a hat-trick. Following that match, the Pulski club visited the city on the Drava five times, achieving three wins and two draws.
Istra 1961 achieved a 5-1 result on 7 December, their most convincing triumph in 20 seasons spent in the top flight of Croatian football. On that match, the hat-trick was signed by Sva Prevljak, who was also the sole scorer in the last match between the two clubs, played on 10 May at the Opus Arena.
Istra 1961 finished the previous season in sixth place, with eight points more than Osijek. Osijek will face Istra 1961, which is positioned seventh in the standings. The Osijek side will face three difficult matches, two of which will be at home, against Lokomotiva and Gorica, where they will receive four goals. On the remaining six matches, Osijek will only three times be defeated, with two in a row against Dinamo, to whom they will send four balls into the net, and will record five wins and one draw.
Istra 1961 will have three minimal defeats, two of which will be at home, against Lokomotiva and Gorica, which should have been avoided. The match will be against the red and white, with only five points ahead of the red and white. Lo Majkić will, for the first time, guard the Pulski net against Osijek, with the Pulski coach, Lo Majkić, celebrating his 39th birthday the day before the match in the Gradski vrt. The match between Osijek and Istra 1961 will end in a 1-1 draw. Istra will finish sixth, remaining in the European competition.
