Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Prague Prediction, Bet Tips & Preview

Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Prague
UEFA Europa League Qualification
Date: 24 August 2023, Thursday
Kick-off at 19:00 UK / 20:00 CET
Venue: Stadion Maksimir (Zagreb).

Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Prague will lock horns in a super-exciting UEFA Europa League playoffs matchup with the first leg scheduled for Thursday evening at Stadion Maksimir.

Both teams have suffered heartbreaking defeats in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying rounds.

Dinamo had a two-goal advantage in the stoppage-time of their rematch in Athens with AEK on Saturday evening before conceding two shocking goals to get eliminated in the dying minutes of the affair.

Sparta, on the other side, dropped the extra-time lead over FC Copenhagen twice in the return leg of their Champions League tie last Tuesday before losing the penalty shootout series.

The situation in and around Dinamo’s dressing room is far from ideal after the elimination at the hands of AEK Athens.

The Zagreb outfit have already lost key center-back Josip Sutalo who left for Ajax in a €20 million deal while star goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic is on the brink of a move to Fenerbahce.

These two departures will severely damage Dinamo’s back line that has allowed two goals in each of the two matches against AEK.

On the other side, Sparta Prague are firing on all cylinders in the final third these days and their impressive attacking line could cause Dinamo massive problems in this matchup.

The team led by Danish manager Brian Priske own the best attacking record in Czech Liga with 14 goals in the opening 5 rounds of the season.

They’ve slipped up for the first time this season domestically by playing only a 1-1 stalemate away at Teplice at the weekend.

This result can be taken with a pinch of salt, though, knowing the team had played 120 minutes of football in a drama against Copenhagen just four days earlier.

Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Prague Head-to-head

• Dinamo and Sparta met each other in the first round of the UEFA Cup in the 2008/09 season when Dinamo advanced on an away goal rule (3-3 on aggregate).
• Both matches ended in draws but Dinamo managed to bag three goals away in the rematch in the Czech Republic on the occasion.
• Interestingly, the third H2H contest between these rivals was played in a friendly last month and it also ended in a stalemate (1-1).

Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Prague Prediction

Sparta Prague play attacking-minded football under Priske and we expect them to cause Dinamo’s back line a lot of problems on Thursday. Dinamo also have their attacking weapons, namely in the like of Bruno Petkovic who has been sensational on Saturday in Athens.

We will take the Both Teams To Score as the main bet at the 1.85 odds while you can alternatively shoot for Sparta Prague not to lose at the 1.72 odds.

• Both Teams To Score @ 1.85 (17/20)

• Sparta Prague to win or draw @ 1.72 (8/11) odd.