With the two sides sitting tied on 10 points after sharing spoils in Greece, this match is likely to give one of the two teams a big advantage over their rivals for the first place in the group. Bosnia are obviously hoping the home field advantage will help them record a valuable win, but even a draw would see them remain in the driving seat.

Unlucky Bosnia

Bosnia-Hercegovina were certainly happy not to have been drawn alongside Portugal for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, having lost to Seleccao in the 2010 World Cup play-offs and Euro 2012 play-offs. Safet Susic’s side were finally handed a somewhat easy group and they are now making the most of it to try and finally qualify for a major tournament. The Dragons were pretty convincing in games against Liechtstein, Latvi and Lithuania, while the goalless draw in Greece can also be considered a very good result. With a lot riding on the return match against the Euro 2004 winners, there is every chance we will see another low-scoring game, especially considering that key midfielder Miralem Pjanic is likely to miss out and that strikers Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic are far from the desired form. The hosts are aware that even a draw would leave them at the top of the group, meaning they are expected to adopt a cautious approach.

Miralem Pjanic is almost certain to miss out, while Sejad Salihovic is also out injured. Boris Pandza is back to the side following a six-month spell on the sidelines, but he is unlikely to start.

Rock-solid Greece

Even if football pundits everywhere continue to underestimate them, Greece just keep impressing with their results. Ethniki defied the odds to reach Euro 2012 quarter-finals and they have carried the rich vein of form into the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The entertaining factor may be missing, but Fernando Santos’ side continue to grind out results, and have already made a giant step towards the tournament finals by taking 10 points from 4 fixtures. Greece may have failed to beat Bosnia at home, but they more than made up with a 1-0 away win over Slovakia, and I am sure they wouldn’t mind another goalless draw against their rivals for the first place in the group. The fact they haven’t conceded a single goal in the last five matches in all competitions should keep them in good stead for the match in Zenica, while the fact they only scored two in last four should give us a clear indication of what to expect in this match.

Nikos Spyropoulos and Kyriakos Papadopoulos miss out through injury, but Avraam Papadopoulos should return after missing the last few qualifiers through a knee injury.

Verdict

With Bosnia attackers misfiring at the moment and Miralem Pjanic out injured, there is every chance we will see a similar match to the one played in Athens in October 2012. Given there were just two goals scored in Greece’s last four matches, another low-scoring game looks on the cards.

Top pick: Under 2 goals   2.15 (23/20) @ bet365

Alternative pick 1: Draw at half-time   2.05 (21/20) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Under 1.5 goals   3.00 (2/1) @ William Hill