Dinamo Zagreb vs Monaco predictions: Hosts to hit back under Bjelica
- Dinamo Zagreb have Nenad Bjelica in charge for the second time
- Monaco have won only one of their last 10 away Champions League games
- Recommended Bet: Double Chance - Dinamo Zagreb or Tie
A fortnight after their 9-2 humbling against Bayern in Munich, Dinamo Zagreb return to Champions League action with a home game against Monaco.
The Croatian champions sacked Sergej Jakirovic two days after that record defeat at the Allianz Arena and they looked like a totally different team when thrashing Lokomotiva Zagreb 5-1 in the league on Saturday under Nenad Bjelica.
Meanwhile, Monaco will look to build on their impressive 2-1 home win over Barcelona from matchday one.
Adi Hutter’s outfit remains unbeaten this season and came from a goal down to beat Montpellier in Ligue 1 at the weekend.
Team news
Dinamo’s biggest issue is in central defence where Morocco international Samy Mmaee is out with a thigh problem and Kevin Théophile-Catherine is struggling to overcome a hamstring injury.
Bjelica is likely to stick with Maxime Bernauer and Raul Torrente, who were the pairing against Lokomotiva, but there could be a change out wide with Marko Pjaca expected to replace Arber Hoxha on the left-hand side.
Martin Baturina may be the only attacking midfielder deployed, with Arijan Ademi dropping out and Petar Sucic being recalled to play in a double pivot with Josip Misic.
As for Monaco, they are likely to revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation after playing a 4-4-2 diamond against Montpellier last weekend.
Breel Embolo looks likely to get the nod ahead of Falorin Balogun in attack, with Takumi Minamino, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Maghnes Akliouche just behind.
Hutter is set to revert back to the starting XI that beat Barca as Caio Henrique and Aleksandr Golovin make way for Thilo Kehrer and Lamine Camara.
The stats
Bayern’s 9-2 thumping of Dinamo on the opening night of the 2024/25 Champions League saw the Croats become the first team to concede nine goals in a single game in the competition.
It was the second-highest scoring game in Champions League history behind Borussia Dortmund’s 8-4 win over Legia Warsaw in November 2016.
Monaco were without a win in 14 matches in the Champions League proper before their 2-1 triumph over Barcelona last month.
Hutter’s side have since gone 10 matches unbeaten (W9 D1), a run which dates back to May.
Prediction
The appointment of Bjelica for a second spell has given Dinamo renewed belief and helped repair some of the psychological damage done by that record defeat in Munich.
The Croatian coach led the Zagreb side to a 4-0 home win over Atalanta in this competition five years ago and the Blues also drew against a good Shakhtar Donetsk side at Stadion Maksimir.
Defensively, they are clearly not rock-solid, but Bruno Petkovic is a good striker at this level, having registered six goals in his last eight Champions League games and Baturina’s talent has attracted admiring glances from some of the biggest clubs around.
They could catch Monaco napping with a clever game plan and the visitors’ patchy European away record is enough to put anyone off backing the Ligue 1 club to win at their odds-on quote.
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