Dinamo Zagreb hosts West Ham United in round 1 of the Europa League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, September 16th at Stadion Maksimir (Zagreb)
The footballers of Dinamo Zagreb won the 2020/2021 Croatian Championship and started their way in European competitions from the first qualifying stage of the Champions League. Damir Krznar's men successfully made their way along the draw, knocking out the Icelandic Valur (3-2 and 2-0), the Cypriot Omonia (2-0 and 1-0) and the Warsaw Legia (1-1 and 1-1). The Blues were one step away from the Champions League group, but Moldovan Sheriff unexpectedly eliminated them (3-0 and 0-0). Thus, Dinamo was relegated to the UEL group round. The Zagrebians are doing well in the Croatian Championship. After seven rounds, the team has 16 points and shares the leadership in the standings with Rijeka and Hajduk, who played more matches. On September 11, Dynamo played a successful home match against Sibenik (2-0). Krznar's men held the initiative for a long time, and Rasmus Lauritsen opened the scoring in the 68th minute. After 10 minutes, Luka Ivanusec doubled the lead and settled the final score.
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West Ham qualified for the UEL group stage, finishing 6th in the last English Premier League. The Hammers have returned to European competitions after a 5-year hiatus. In the new season of the Premier League, West Ham is doing without defeats so far. After four rounds, the Londoners have eight points and take 8th place in the table. Moyes's team had a brisk start, beating Newcastle (4-2) and Leicester (4-1), but then there was a draw with Crystal Palace (2-2). And on September 11, the Hammers shared points with Southampton (0-0). West Ham had problems in the attack in the game against the Saints. The home team effectively blocked the attempts of Moyes's players to break into the penalty area. In 90 minutes, the Londoners delivered only two shots on target. In added time, West Ham lost striker Michail Antonio, who picked up two yellow cards.
Dinamo Zagreb and West Ham will play against each other for the first time. Each of the teams has its own trump cards. The Zagrebians look formidable on their pitch. In 22 previous UEFA European Cup matches, only Manchester City (1-4) and Villarreal (0-1) managed to win at Stadion Maksimir. On the other hand, West Ham has an advantage in the class of players and a good selection of performers in the reserve, although the Hammers obviously lack experience in playing in European competitions. The Croatians, unlike West Ham, have been regulars in the European group rounds for the past 15 years. It was only in the 2017/18 season that the Croats were eliminated in the UEL qualifiers. Such experience can help Krznar's team.
Prediction for the match: Dinamo Zagreb to win with +0.5 handicap
