Dinamo Zagreb will be looking to overturn a one-goal deficit when they travel to Greece to take on AEK Athens in the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie at the Agia Sophia Stadium on Saturday evening.
The UEFA contest is unusually scheduled at a weekend after the original tie was postponed a week last Tuesday following the death of an AEK Athens supporter in a mass brawl that resulted in 98 arrests by Greek police.
Match preview
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Following the tragic passing of an AEK Athens fan in Greece, Dinamo Zagreb agreed to host the first leg in Croatia on Wednesday, but it was the visitors who prevailed with a 2-1 comeback victory.
Dinamo entered half time ahead courtesy of a 39th-minute strike from Marko Bulat, but AEK Athens valiantly fought back, with second-half goals from Steven Zuber and substitute Konstantinos Galanopoulos – the latter netting a 90th-minute winner – helping the visitors claim victory in their first competitive match of the new season.
Matias Almeyda's men entered the contest in Croatia in strong form after winning their final four friendly fixtures in pre-season by an aggregate score of 14-1.
AEK Athens lifted their 13th Greek Super League title and first in five years last season, finishing five points ahead of their nearest challengers Panathinaikos and 10 clear of previous winners Olympiacos.
The Yellow-Black begin the defence of their top-flight crown at home against Panaitolikos next week, but they will first concentrate on finishing the job in Champions Legue qualifying against Dinamo Zagreb as they endeavour to reach the competition's group stage for the first time since 2018-19.
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Dinamo Zagreb competed in last season's Champions League group stage, finishing rock bottom of Group E behind Chelsea, AC Milan and Red Bull Salzburg with just four points from six games.
However, the Croatian giants now have a battle on their hands to advance to the final 32 this term following their first-leg loss to AEK Athens, with manager Igor Biscan keen to put aside his team's disappointing second-half display.
Biscan has made no secret of his desire to strengthen his squad this summer and he reiterated his wish for the Dinamo hierarchy to bring in reinforcements after Wednesday's match, stating that his current group of players cannot maintain the desired level of performance for the full 90 minutes.
Unlike AEK Athens, Dinamo had already played five competitive fixtures prior to Wednesday's loss, picking up four points from their opening three SuperSport HNL games as well as winning their Champions League second qualifying round tie against Astana 6-0 on aggregate.
The winners of Saturday's tie on aggregate between AEK Athens and Dinamo will face Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp in the playoff round for a place in the Champions League group stage, with the first leg scheduled to take place next Tuesday.
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Team News
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AEK Athens striker Levi Garcia and centre-back Domagoj Vida both recovered from injury to start and play the full 90 minutes in the first leg, and the duo are expected to retain their places in the first XI on Saturday.
Summer signing Ezequiel Ponce was not involved in the first leg but he could be in a position to make his debut this weekend, most likely as a substitute, while fellow new recruits Orbelin Pineda and Rodolfo Pizarro are in contention to make their first home appearances for the Yellow-Blacks.
Galanopoulos will be pushing to start after netting the match-winner as a substitute on Wednesday, as will Nordin Amrabat – the brother of Manchester United target Sofyan Amrabat – who may get the nod on the right flank ahead of Niclas Eliasson.
As for Dinamo Zagreb, left-back Bogdan Mykhaylichenko has featured in midfield on two occasions since joining the club from Anderlecht this summer, and the Ukrainian is in contention to keep his place in the starting lineup alongside Bulat and Josip Misic.
Luka Ivanusec has scored four goals in five appearances so far this season, including a hat-trick in the previous round against Astana, and the winger is expected to operate on the left flank, with Dario Spikic set to keep his spot on the opposite wing.
Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and defender Josip Sutalo have both been linked with possible summer exits but the pair started in the first leg and are poised to continue in Biscan's side on Wednesday.
AEK Athens possible starting lineup:
Stankovic; Sidibe, Vida, Moukoudi, Hajsafi; Jonsson, Szymanski; Amrabat, Zuber, Pineda; Garcia
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Moharrami, Ristovski, Sutalo, Ljubicic; Bulat, Misic; Spikic, Mykhaylichenko, Ivanusec; Petkovic
We say: AEK Athens 1-1 Dinamo Zagreb (AEK Athens to win 3-2 on aggregate)
Dinamo Zagreb, who entered this two-legged contest as favourites, can ill-afford another sluggish second-half display on Saturday if they wish to turn the tie on its head.
AEK Athens can take plenty of positives from their spirited performance in midweek and we believe that they will do enough to frustrate the visitors on home soil to progress to the next round on aggregate.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
