- Canberra Croatia have won the last meeting in the NPL Capital Football league - 3-1 away on 20 May 2026.
- Canberra Croatia have won four and drawn one of their last five league matches, scoring 12 and conceding only one in their last three.
- The odds for this match are heavily skewed in favour of Croatia - 1.37 - with the visitors being underdogs at 6.61.
A top-three clash for Capital NPL Women
Sunday's top-three matchup in the Capital Territory Premier League Women's 2026 is a critical six-pointer as second-placed Canberra Croatia (26pts, 11) host third-placed Canberra Olympic (20pts, 11).
The odds for this week's Canberra Classico are heavily weighted towards the hosts, which makes sense on paper as Croatia have been in red-hot form and have a slight advantage in head-to-head encounters, but we're avoiding the hosts at 1.37 and taking Olympic at 6.61 to snag some value in this match.
Olympic have also been in good form, winning three and losing two of their last five league games. Cachia's charges have kept back-to-back clean sheets in their two wins, while they were outplayed 3-1 by Croatia in the last head-to-head, so a step up in performance will be needed to pull an upset.
Croatia have the firepower to win
The 1.53 price for over 2.5 goals looks generous considering the firepower of the host's attack and their form in recent weeks. Zoran Glavinic's team play a high-tempo, forward-pressing style with wide overloads and aggressive transitions. They have the most potent attack in the league by some distance and have been racking up multi-goal wins and a string of clean sheets in recent weeks.
Brittany Palombi is among the league's top scorers and leads the line for Canberra Croatia. Tehya Aspland brings pace and creativity to the visitors' attack, often sparking their transition play. Arusha Chew chips in with important goals and assists, while Glavinic's side have found a good balance in their backline, with young guns Nadia Zakman and Ella Palframan adding some youthful energy to their clean sheet streak.
Olympic have the organisation to make a contest of it
Frank Cachia has enjoyed some local trophy success with Olympic by organising his teams to be defensively solid, disciplined, pragmatic and with enough attacking quality to capitalise on set pieces and turnovers. Michaela Thornton and Jane Vanzino have been the bedrock of Olympic's recent shutouts, and Madison Cachia, who's always in the top-scorer charts and match highlights, will try to exploit the space left by Croatia's attacking players.
We think the contrast between Glavinic's all-action attacking strategy and Cachia's disciplined, pragmatic approach will make for an old-fashioned, classic, attack-vs-defence type of showdown in Sunday's Canberra Classico. This rivalry always brings out the intensity and drama, with both clubs and fanbases viewing it as the marquee matchup of the season.
Canberra Olympic will arrive ready to counter-attack and exploit any gaps in the defensive line, while Canberra Croatia will come out to attack and press from the start. Cool and dry conditions should allow both teams to play their game and we think there will be a few goals in this game, so we're going with Croatia to edge what should be a tight and entertaining affair.