On matchday five of the Champions League, Dinamo Zagreb will welcome inconsistent Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund to Stadion Maksimir on Wednesday.
The Croatian champions are 16th in the Champions League table with seven points and triumphed 4-1 against Slovan Bratislava on November 5, whereas BVB are seventh with nine points and beat Sturm Graz 1-0 on November 5.
Match preview
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Dinamo Zagreb fell behind against Slovan Bratislava after just five minutes but equalised by the 10th minute and led 2-1 after just half an hour.
Interestingly, despite winning 4-1, Wednesday's hosts struggled statistically in the first 45 minutes considering their figure of 0.5 xG was roughly three times less than their opponents' tally of 1.47 xG, but a resounding second-half showing helped steer them to victory.
Head coach Nenad Bjelica's side are currently third in their domestic league with 25 points from 14 matches and are four points from leaders Hajduk Split.
Bjelica's team have only lost one of their last 11 games in all competitions, winning six and drawing four, and they have also achieved victory in four of their six most recent outings.
However, Dinamo Zagreb have failed to win their past three home fixtures and have kept just one clean sheet in their last six matches at Stadion Maksimir.
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Meanwhile, Dortmund boss Nuri Sahin was able to ease some of the pressure on his job with a 4-0 win against Freiburg last time out on November 23 in the Bundesliga.
Sahin's side started their 2024-25 campaign with six victories in their first eight games, but BVB lost five of their subsequent nine.
Dortmund are fifth in the German top flight with 19 points and have already lost four times in 11 games, though they are only one point from fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who occupy the division's final Champions League qualification spot.
It is important to highlight that BVB have won three of their four most recent games, with their 3-1 defeat against Mainz 05 on November 9 being mitigated by the fact Emre Can was sent off in the 27th minute when the scoreline was 0-0.
Against Sturm Graz, Wednesday's visitors accumulated 66% possession and produced nearly two xG but only claimed all three points thanks to Donyell Malen's 85th-minute winner.
Dortmund's form on the road is troubling given they have lost their last six matches away from home, conceding 18 times while scoring on just six occasions.
Team News
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Defensive midfielder Josip Misic was forced off last time out on November 23 against Rijeka and is unlikely to play on Wednesday, while fellow midfielder Petar Sucic is scheduled to return in late December.
Lukas Kacavenda could start in the centre of the pitch alongside Maxime Bernauer and Martin Baturina.
Forwards Bruno Petkovic and Juan Cordoba will not be available for selection, and Bjelica may field a front three consisting of Dario Spikic, Sandro Kulenovic and Marko Pjaca.
As for the visitors, attacker Karim Adeyemi is nearing a return from a hamstring injury but is unlikely to feature, though striker Serhou Guirassy may make an appearance in some capacity.
Should Guirassy fail to make the starting XI, Julian Brandt, Donyell Malen, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Maximilian Beier could be chosen to lead Dortmund's offensive line.
Midfielder Kjell Watjen and centre-back Niklas Sule are also out as a result of injury, so expect Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck to appear in the heart of defence, shielded by a double pivot of Felix Nmecha and Emre Can.
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Zagorac; Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Torrente, Ogiwara; Kacavenda, Bernauer, Baturina; Spikic, Kulenovic, Pjaca
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Can; Malen, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens; Beier
We say: Dinamo Zagreb 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund are in better form of late and will go into their clash confident after their 4-0 win last time out.
However, it is difficult to ignore the visitors' poor record on the road, and it would be surprising if they managed to achieve victory against Dinamo Zagreb.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
