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HNK Rijeka host HNK Hajduk Split on Sunday evening, 26 April 2026, in a match that feels a long way from routine. This is the kind of HNL fixture that carries its own weight before a ball is kicked. Rijeka are fourth in the table on 42 points and still have work to do if they want to close the gap on the top end of the league. Hajduk arrive in second on 60 points, chasing the title and trying to keep the pressure on the leaders. That alone gives this game a proper edge.
There’s no European distraction here, no cup final stage to point to. The context is simpler and sharper. Rijeka need results to keep their season alive. Hajduk need to keep winning to stay in the title fight. One side is trying to force its way back into the conversation; the other is trying not to slip out of it. That makes this a match with very little room for error.
And there’s a bit of recent history to sharpen the mood. These two have already met several times over the last year, including a 3-2 Rijeka win in the cup on 4 March and a 1-0 Hajduk league victory in Split on 22 February. The pattern is familiar enough. There’s quality on both sides, there’s usually a bit of bite, and the goals tend to arrive. That won’t surprise anyone who’s watched this fixture over the last few seasons.
Rijeka’s recent run has been a strange one. They went away to Slaven Belupo on 4 April and took a 2-0 league win, then backed that up with another 2-0 success at home to the same opponents in the cup four days later. For a brief moment, it looked like they’d found some rhythm. Since then, though, the wheels have wobbled. They were beaten 0-2 at home by Osijek on 12 April, drew 2-2 away to Dinamo Zagreb on 18 April in a result that showed real fight, and then slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Varaždin on 22 April. That’s a mixed bag, and the latest result leaves them with no win in three.
The Dinamo draw was the standout. Rijeka had to stand up under pressure and did enough to come away with a point from a difficult away trip. But their home form hasn’t been as convincing as they’d like. They’ve won seven, drawn four and lost four at their own ground in the league, scoring 24 and conceding 15. That’s a decent base, not a dominant one. They’re capable of controlling games at home, yet the margins haven’t been kind and the clean sheets haven’t come often enough. Three matches without one tells the story.
Still, Rijeka have enough attacking threat to ask questions here. Across the league season they’ve scored 41 goals and averaged 1.0 expected goals in this specific fixture profile against Hajduk’s 1.2, which is a useful reminder that they’re not being asked to do something outlandish. The issue is whether they can keep Hajduk down at the other end. Rijeka have allowed goals too easily in patches, and when they don’t make the first punch count, they tend to leave themselves open. That’s why this feels like a game where they’ll need to score to have any chance at all.
Hajduk’s last six have had more force to them, even if the final result against Osijek left a sour taste. Before that 0-1 home loss on 21 April, they had gone on a strong league run with a 2-2 draw away to Slaven Belupo, a 1-0 home win over Gorica, a 3-1 away victory at Istra 1961 and that huge 6-0 demolition of Vukovar 1991 on 21 March. They also beat Lokomotiva 2-1 at home in mid-March. That’s four wins from their last six, and even the defeats and draws haven’t been flat performances.
The Osijek result was the one that broke the rhythm. Hajduk didn’t play like a side short of ideas — they posted 2.07 xG, had 10 shots, five on target and created four big chances — but they still lost 1-0. That’s football. You can dominate the chance count and still come away empty-handed if the finishing goes missing or the break goes against you. Michele Šego’s missed penalty in the 83rd minute only made it sting more. It was a frustrating night, not a disastrous one. Mind you, title chasers can’t afford too many of those.
On the road, Hajduk have been one of the better sides in the league. Their away record reads eight wins, four draws and three defeats, with 27 goals scored and 15 conceded. Those are strong numbers. They travel well, they score regularly, and they’ve shown they can be ruthless when the game opens up. That 6-0 win at Vukovar was the obvious outlier, but the 3-1 at Istra and the draw at Slaven underline a team that doesn’t fold away from home. They’re second in the away standings for a reason.
That said, the last two matches suggest there’s a slight wrinkle. Hajduk have been creating enough, but the finishing hasn’t always matched the volume. They’ve still got the quality to hurt Rijeka, especially if the hosts are forced into a more open shape. The away record says they’ll back themselves. The recent narrow loss says they’re not immune to getting dragged into a scrap either.
This fixture has a habit of producing drama, and the recent meetings back that up. Rijeka beat Hajduk 3-2 in the cup on 4 March, after Hajduk had taken the league meeting in Split 1-0 on 22 February. Go back a little further and the pattern becomes even clearer. Rijeka won 5-0 at home in November 2025 and 3-0 at home in March 2025, while the sides drew 2-2 in Split in August 2025 and again in Split in December 2024. There’s no shortage of goals when these two get together.
That’s the key point. Five of the last six meetings listed here have produced at least three goals, and both teams have found ways to land punches. There’s usually enough chaos, enough attacking intent and enough risk for the net to bulge at both ends. This isn’t one of those drab derbies where both sides spend 90 minutes trying not to blink. Far from it.
We are backing Both Teams To Score at 8/11 here. It’s the cleanest angle on the game. Rijeka have scored in enough of their home matches to make their mark, even if the last three have gone without a win, and Hajduk arrive with 51 league goals overall and a strong away scoring record. Neither defence is airtight either. Rijeka have conceded 36 in the league, Hajduk 29, and both teams have shown lately that they can create chances without always finishing the job.
The head-to-head history points the same way. Rijeka’s 3-2 cup win and the recent run of high-scoring meetings between these sides make a blank on one side feel less likely than the market price implies. A 1-1 draw looks the best call for the scoreline, with both teams finding a way through but neither doing enough to pull clear. If you wanted a secondary angle, over 2.5 goals has appeal as well, but BTTS feels the sharper play given the shape of both teams and the tension this match should carry.
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