Two sides still searching for their maiden triumph of the new-look 2024-25 Champions League clash at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, as Red Bull Salzburg welcome Croatian foes Dinamo Zagreb.
Pep Lijnders's side were embarrassed at home to French upstarts Brest last time out, but their visitors fared better against Ligue 1 opposition, earning a creditable 2-2 draw against Monaco.
Match preview
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Now that the new manager bounce has worn off, Salzburg have been on a downward spiral under the wing of former Liverpool assistant Lijnders, whose former superior Jurgen Klopp will soon be helping with operations in Salzburg as Red Bull's new Head of Global Soccer.
A dash of inspiration from the German cannot come quickly enough, as Salzburg have already been humiliated by two modest opponents in Europe so far, going down 3-0 to Sparta Prague on the opening matchday before Brest hit them for four without reply earlier this month.
With zero points, zero goals and seven conceded at the other end, the juvenile Austrians - who join Bologna, Shakhtar Donetsk and BSC Young Boys as one of just four teams waiting for a first goal of the league phase - are 34th in the 36-team UCL rankings, only performing better than Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava so far.
Formerly picking up customary Austrian Bundesliga titles for fun, Salzburg's powers have also waned domestically over the past year as they lie fourth in the early-season standings, although they have two games in hand on leaders Sturm Graz, whom they are six points adrift of.
A nervy 2-1 win over Rhiendorf Altach - where two goals in the final 10 minutes reversed a 1-0 deficit - could not have been more timely for the Austrian powerhouses, who are at risk of suffering a sixth straight home loss in the Champions League proper, although they did conquer FC Twente and Dynamo Kiev in qualifying.
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As Salzburg were ruthlessly put to the sword by French opposition on matchday two, Dinamo Zagreb fans could have been forgiven for expecting their side to suffer a similar fate against Monaco, having witnessed Bayern Munich blow their players to smithereens in a 9-2 obliteration on matchday one.
The visit of Les Monegasques was excruciating for different reasons, though, as the Croatian side were on track for an unexpected win when Petar Sucic and Martin Baturina put them two goals to the good, only for Dinamo Zagreb to throw their advantage away as Mohammed Salisu and Denis Zakaria dramatically drew Monaco level.
It was all too much for furious manager Nenad Bjelica, who got himself sent off right at the death for two bookable offences as the Citizens were forced to settle for a point, albeit an applaudable one as they rose to 28th in the embryonic Champions League standings.
Ironically, it was Bjelica's men who had to strike late to salvage a 2-2 draw with Istra 1961 in league action at the weekend, a result that stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches but left them four points behind leaders Hadjuk Split in the Croatian top-flight table.
Scoring 16 goals and conceding a whopping 19 across their last seven games, Dinamo Zagreb have been full value for money entertainment-wise and now prepare to meet Salzburg for the ninth time all told, but the Croatians have only won one of their eight head-to-heads so far.
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Team News
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The Salzburg doctors are being kept relatively busy at the moment, as Takumu Kawamura (knee), Dorgeles Nene (hip), Petar Ratkov (hamstring) and Moussa Yeo (ankle) are all sidelined, but key defender Amar Dedic returned from an issue of his own as a substitute at the weekend.
The 22-year-old Bosnian right-back has already completed eight dribbles in the 2024-25 Champions League - second only to Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (nine) - while posting a 100% success rate from his take-on attempts.
Arsenal-linked Oscar Gloukh was also brought off the bench for the final half-hour of the win over Rheindorf, replacing ex-Liverpool youngster Bobby Clark, and that change could now occur from the first whistle.
As far as Dinamo Zagreb are concerned, head coach Bjelica serves a one-match touchline ban for his meltdown in the Monaco draw, while right-back Stefan Ristovski will incur a suspension of his own if he is yellow-carded on Wednesday.
However, the Citizens are in a brilliant place fitness wise, and a full-strength XI should include the return of powerhouse striker Bruno Petkovic, who only came on for the final 20 minutes of the weekend's draw.
Playmaker-in-chief Baturina - who set up Sucic's strike against Monaco before scoring himself - should also force his way back into the starting lineup; both he and Petkovic are aiming to become the first-ever Dinamo Zagreb players to both score and assist in more than one Champions League game.
Red Bull Salzburg possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Dedic, Piatkowski, Baidoo, Terzic; Kjaergaard, Gourna-Douath, Bidstrup; Baidoo, Konate, Gloukh
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Zagorac; Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Torrente, Pierre-Gabriel; Ademi, Misic, Sucic; Baturina; Petkovic, Kulenovic
We say: Red Bull Salzburg 2-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Defending is not in either side's dictionary, but both managers' commitment to attacking gives rise to a truly entertaining affair at the Red Bull Arena, where Dinamo Zagreb will no doubt be partially affected by their manager's suspension.
However, given how frail the hosts are at the back, the Croatian visitors will surely be good enough for a slice of the spoils, albeit one that will leave both sides still searching for that elusive victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
