Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Prague braced for tense first-leg battle
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Praha - 24/08/2023
3133
Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Prague will meet for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off at Stadion Maksimir on Thursday evening.
Dinamo Zagreb dropped into Europa League qualifying after falling to AEK Athens in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.
Sparta Prague were also eliminated from Champions League qualifying last week, suffering a penalty shootout defeat against FC Copenhagen.
Dinamo Zagreb have made an inconsistent start to the 2023-24 campaign, recording one win, one draw and one loss in their opening three domestic league games.
After losing 2-1 to Hajduk Split in their first match, the Croatian giants defeated NK Istra 3-0 before playing out a goalless draw with HNK Gorcia.
Dinamo made light work of FC Astana in their first Champions League qualifier, achieving a dominant 6-0 aggregate victory over the team from Kazakhstan.
However, they failed to make it past AEK Athens in the third round, suffering a 4-3 aggregate defeat against the Greek club.
On the flip side, Sparta Prague have made an impressive start to their domestic league’s campaign, taking 13 points from a possible 15 to remain unbeaten.
Following four successive victories, the Czech outfit drew 1-1 with Teplice last time out. Still, they remain second in the table with the best offensive record in the division.
Sparta Prague entered Champions League qualifying in the third round but failed to make it any further, drawing 3-3 with Copenhagen before losing on penalties.
It is worth noting, however, the Sparta have lost just two of their 12 matches inside 90 minutes across all competitions this term.
Head-to-head: Funnily enough, Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Prague faced each other in a friendly last month, playing out a 1-1 draw.
The two sides also produced a couple of draws during the 2007-08 edition of the old UEFA Cup, serving out a goalless stalemate before notching a memorable 3-3 draw.
Team news: Dinamo winger Luka Ivanusec has already netted four goals and six matches this term, while Mahir Emreli and Bruno Petkovic have both bagged one goal and two assists.
As for Sparta, Lukas Haraslin and Jan Kuchta have both scored three goals in six appearances this season, while Qazim Laci has contributed five assists from midfield.
Given that high-stakes nature of this clash, Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Prague will likely serve up a tense and cagey encounter on Thursday.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Prague will play out a low-scoring draw in the first leg.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UEL
344125
X
1 - 1
2.30
31°
3.30
2.15
3.30
3.40
no
no
no
3 - 1(1 - 1)
Home
Football 
Basketball
Tennis
Hockey
American Football
Baseball
Rugby
Volleyball
Handball
Esoccer
