Aiming to respond positively following their Bavarian horror show a fortnight ago, Dinamo Zagreb will welcome in-form Monaco to Stadion Maksimir on Wednesday night in the Champions League.
Plavi have a new face in the managerial hotseat after a stuttering start to the campaign, whereas Les Rouge et Blanc are threatening to seriously challenge for both domestic and continental honours this term.
Match preview
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Rooted to the bottom of the 36-team table of the revamped Champions League after one gameweek, Dinamo Zagreb will be looking to put their opening match in the competition firmly behind them, with the Croatians losing 9-2 at the Allianz Arena to Bayern Munich on September 17.
After the Bavarians had raced into a three-goal lead, strikes from Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara had Plavi back in the contest momentarily, but Vincent Kompany's troops stepped on the gas significantly in the second period, with a quartet of goals from Harry Kane representing the main talking point of the evening.
A simply unacceptable display in Bavaria cost Sergej Jakirovic his position as Dinamo Zagreb head coach, although things did not immediately improve for Wednesday's hosts, who were beaten 4-1 at the home of bottom side Slaven on September 21, a defeat arguably worse than the one suffered in Munich.
Plavi have enjoyed a positive result since then, though, smashing NK Lokomotiva 5-1 at Stadion Maksimir during Nenad Bjelica's first game in charge of the club, with the 53-year-old looking to guide Zagreb into the knockout stages of the Champions League after failing to do so with Union Berlin last season.
Winning just one of their last five matches across all competitions, Dinamo Zagreb do not possess the greatest form heading into this clash, although their record at Stadion Maksimir is pretty commendable, losing only once from five competitive games at the venue in 2024-25.
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After a second-placed finish in Ligue 1 during the 2023-24 campaign - ending up nine points behind perennial winners Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco are on a mission to lift their first French crown since the 2016-17 term, and that particular quest has commenced impressively.
Les Rouge et Blanc have dropped just two points during their opening six top-flight contests this season, with an injury-time winner from midfielder Lamine Camara on the weekend ensuring that Montpellier HSC left the Stade Louis-II Stadium with nothing to show for their efforts.
Collecting 16 points from their first six Ligue 1 battles, Monaco are currently occupying second place in the top-flight rankings, behind Luis Enrique's Parisiens on goal difference, with Wednesday's visitors to Croatia well in the hunt for the French title at this early stage.
Focusing on the continental scene, Les Rouge et Blanc have also enjoyed a major success in the Champions League this campaign, beating La Liga leaders Barcelona 2-1 during gameweek one courtesy of goals either side of the half-time whistle from Maghnes Akliouche and George Ilenikhena.
With Wissam Ben Yedder leaving Monaco at the expiration of his contract over the summer, Adi Hutter has been forced to share the goalscoring burden more evenly around his ranks so far this term, with the likes of Folarin Balogun and Denis Zakaria stepping up to the plate.
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Team News
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Dinamo Zagreb remain without the services of Mauro Perkovic, with the 21-year-old still recovering from a knee injury sustained in August.
Plavi are also unable to call upon the talents of Dino Peric due to a knock, meaning that the hosts are restricted in terms of options in defence.
As a result, Spaniard Raul Torrente is almost certain to retain his spot in the XI from the weekend, especially after he bagged an injury-time brace.
Monaco currently have young duo Edan Diop and Radoslaw Majecki in the medical room until next month, with the pair battling against foot and ankle issues respectively.
Providing two pinpoint assists against Barcelona a fortnight ago, Vanderson will continue to shine at full-back for Les Rouge et Blanc on Wednesday night.
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Nevistic; Ristovski, Bernauer, Torrente, Pierre-Gabriel; Misic, Ademi, Cordoba, Baturina, Hoxha; Petkovic
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Vanderson, Singo, Salisu, Henrique; Akilouche, Zakaria, Golovin, Ben Seghir; Balogun, Embolo
We say: Dinamo Zagreb 1-3 Monaco
Despite a morale-boosting win over a Croatian struggler over the weekend, Dinamo Zagreb are massive underdogs heading into Wednesday's clash in the Champions League.
Monaco are flying on both domestic and continental stages so far this season and should face no issues as they look to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
