Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb – Champions League Preview

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb – Champions League Preview

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb – Wednesday 19:45 GMT/20:45 CET at Juventus Stadium in Turin.  

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb will take place at the Juventus Stadium - Image by Hpnx9420 at English Wikipedia CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb will take place at the Juventus Stadium – Image by Hpnx9420 at English Wikipedia CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0

It has been another Champions League season to forget for Dinamo Zagreb, as the Croatians have failed to gain a single point in the group stage. In fact, Dinamo Zagreb are the only team in the UEFA Champions League group stage without a goal.

Dinamo’s overall record in the Champions League has been dire for some time now. The main reason for its dismal record is the fact that the club regularly loses its top players to clubs in Western Europe.

In fact, Croatian football in general has suffered from this affliction since the collapse of Yugoslavia (more on that here). And, while Dinamo Zagreb’s production line has enabled the club to earn money on the transfer market, the club has suffered significantly from the rampant corruption that is endemic throughout Croatian football.

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Hence, much of the money earned has ended up in the pockets of officials instead of being reinvested in the club’s infrastructure. Until this season, Dinamo was always able to compensate for the loss of talented players, but the continuous departure of players seems to have finally taken its toll, as Dinamo have fallen behind in the title race in Croatia, as well, where they are six points behind league leader HNK Rijeka.

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb – Player to look out for:

Ante Ćorić is the player to look out for when Dinamo Zagreb play Juventus on Wednesday. The 19-year-old midfielder could be the latest talented midfielder to leave Dinamo Zagreb for a major European club, as he has been already heavily linked with a move to Liverpool FC (you can find a full scout report here). Futbolgrad was able to observe the player on several occasions this season, and Ćorić, who can play both in the centre, as well as on the wing, appears to be predestined to play as a playmaker. Valued at €10 million, any club wanting to sign the player would have to make a sizeable offer to pry the player away from Dinamo this winter.

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb – Match Stats

  • Juventus have faced Croatian opponents on only one other occasion, beating HNK Rijeka 2-0 at home in the 1979-80 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final after a 0-0 away draw.
  • The Bianconeri are on a 19-match (W10 D9) unbeaten home run in UEFA competitions, dating back to a 2-0 loss to FC Bayern München in April 2013.
  • Last season, Juventus did not concede a goal at home, beating Sevilla 2-0 and Manchester City 1-0, and drawing 0-0 with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
  • Dinamo lost all three away games in last season’s group stage, conceding ten goals and scoring only one.
  • Dinamo have now failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League in all six attempts.
  • In fact, in all 13 UEFA club competitions group stages—including seven in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League—Dinamo have failed to reach the knockout stage.

Futbolgrad’s Prediction: Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb 4-1

Juventus vs Dinamo Zagreb – Possible Lineups

Juventus

Formation: 3-5-2

Buffon – Bonucci, Benatia, Lichtsteiner – Alex Sandro, Hernanes, Pjanić, Khedira, Cuadrado – Mandzukić, Higuaín

Manager: Massimiliano Allegri

Dinamo Zagreb

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Livaković – Pivarić, Benković, Sigali, Situm – Knezević, Jonas – Corić, Gojak, Soudani – Fernándes

Manager: Ivaylo Petev

By Manuel Veth – 

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