NK Varaždin continues its push for the top of the table on Friday, September 4th, as they host Istra 1961 at home. The 6th round SuperSport HNL match kicks off at 20:00 at Stadion Varteks and will be broadcast on the league's official channels.
Manager Nikola Šafarić's team enters this match with significant confidence. After five rounds played, Varaždin has 12 points and shares the top of the league table with Osijek. In the previous round, they secured a convincing 2:0 victory over Rudeš in front of their home fans. Istra 1961 arrives with five points from five matches, currently placing them seventh. In their last outing, they drew 2:2 with Dinamo at home. Details on all upcoming fixtures can be found on our fixtures page.
What is the competitive landscape?
NK Varaždin has achieved four wins and one loss at the start of the season. This form puts them in direct contention for the leading position, with Istra being the next test. The visitors from Pula have a record of one win, two draws, and two losses. Although they showed character with a draw against Dinamo last time out, they are still searching for consistency on the road. Manager Šafarić has a fully fit and motivated squad available for this important fixture.
Stadion Varteks expects a large crowd, and the local portal eVaraždin is giving away four tickets for this derby. "We are giving you 2x2 tickets for the West Left section for the football match between NK Varaždin and Istra 1961," eVaraždin announced. The prize consists of two pairs of tickets for the west stand. The entry rules are clear: participants must share the post publicly on their profile, like the eVaraždin and NK Varaždin Facebook pages, and tag the person they are bringing to the match in a comment.
Where can fans get free tickets?
The giveaway runs until Friday morning, when the lucky winners will be drawn. Winners can collect their tickets on match day at the stadium ticket point. This is a great opportunity for fans to support their team for free in a key match. For those wanting to follow player and team statistics, our stats page is available.
What follows after the match with Istra?
Regardless of the outcome on Friday, NK Varaždin's schedule continues immediately. Already next week, on September 12th, the team travels for an away match against HNK Gorica. That will be another challenging fixture as part of the 7th league round. The team's current standing can always be checked on the standings page.
The match against Istra 1961 will be a good indicator of Varaždin's ambitions this season. Given the strong start, fans expect the positive run to continue in front of the home crowd. Nikola Šafarić's squad has 12 points after five played rounds and is in second place on the league table, as the manager himself highlighted. The next engagement against Gorica away is scheduled for September 12th.
