Dinamo Zagreb vs. Sparta Prague: Preview and betting tips

After the Champions League knockout round, Sparta will play their last qualifying match in the Europa League. Their opponents will be Dinamo Zagreb and the first match will be played in Croatia. Let’s take a look at the latest results of both teams and the changes in the squad.

The Europa League play-offs are here! Sparta will face Dinamo Zagreb after falling on penalties to Copenhagen. The Croatians were also close to qualification, but lost it at the very end.

Dinamo’s performance

Dinamo Zagreb won the Croatian league last season with 81 points and a ten-point lead over second-placed Hajduk Split. It managed to do so despite 9 draws and three defeats.

In the current season, however, it has not done so well so far. After three games, it has only four points and is only seventh, but it should be noted that it is the only team with so many games played.

Because of the rematch with AEK they had to postpone the game and some teams have even two more rounds played. Dinamo’s elimination from the third round of the Champions League was quite surprising, the performance was not optimal and changes came before the match with Sparta.

The club has accepted an offer for Josip Šutal and the back-row mainstay will now play for Ajax. Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic is also on his way out, and his transfer to Fenerbahce should be completed within today.

He will not start against Sparta. And the last change was made by the club in the coaching position. The management dismissed Igor Biscan after unsatisfactory results and replaced him with Sergej Jakirovic.

Sparta’s results and performances

Sparta have been 100% in the league so far, but only drew in Teplice at the weekend after captain Ladislav Krejci got himself sent off. Sparta need to improve their confidence, but they travel to Croatia with the expectation that they must get a playable result.

Preparatory matches don’t tell much, but Sparta played Dinamo at the beginning of July and the match ended in a 1-1 draw, although Sparta deserved to win, maybe even by a higher margin.

But then two elevens on both sides entered the match and now we are expecting something completely different. The game against AEK showed that we can play with Dinamo, and we might have a similar game to the one against Copenhagen.

What to bet on?

The vast majority of bettors believe in a home win, and the odds of 2.26 are quite tempting. In contrast, Sparta is 3.35, which may attract especially loyal fans who believe in the performance of their favourite club.

However, since this is the first match, it might be a better choice to look at the number of goals. The odds of 2.3 less than 2.0 goals are not bad at all, and in the case of two goals at least the stake is returned. But those who are not afraid can try to take more risks.

Betting tip | Number of goals in the match: Less than 1.5 at odds of 3.07