Dinamo Zagreb v Arsenal - Match preview and odds

Champions League

Football
Published: 16/09/2015

Dinamo Zagreb v Arsenal - Match preview and odds

19:45pm - Stadion Maksimir

Group F

Arsenal will get their Champions League quest underway with a tough trip to Zagreb on Wednesday night.

Gunning for glory

It has been a while since Arsene Wenger’s team have mounted a serious challenge in this competition, and it is hard to imagine them progressing much further this year considering the improved strength of the competition.

The Gunners will approach the group stages with a familiar line-up thanks to their inactivity in the summer transfer market - with the notable exception of goal keeper Petr Cech. They will be reluctant to lose any ground in a group which features last year’s semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Greek league and cup double winners Olympiacos.

Wenger has a good working knowledge of his opponents thanks to regular scouting missions in the region over the years. Former Arsenal player Eduardo was purchased from Zagreb and the Croatian club has been home to many other top talents including Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Mario Mandžukić of Juventus.

Low expectations

Dinamo Zagreb have a poor track record in the Champions League and have often failed to make it beyond the qualifying stages. This year will be the fifth time that the Croatians have reached the group stages of the competition.

The last time they reached the CL group stages in 2012/13, they lost five out of six games and drew the other in a group containing Dynamo Kyiv, Paris Saint-Germain and FC Porto. In fact, they have failed to win any of their last 15 group stage matches

Despite their poor form in this competition, Zdravko Mamić’s team are experiencing their best form in years having gone unbeaten in their last 23 home games. Since their November 2014 defeat to Romanian side AFC Astra in the Europa League, they have not lost a single match in any competition - a record that stretches back 46 games (including both legs of two-legged ties) .

Team news

Arsenal will be without Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck who are all out with long-term injuries while their opponents will have a full strength squad to choose from.

Recent form

Dinamo Zagreb: WWWDW

Arsenal: WWDWL

Betting odds and tips

Arsenal will be clear favourites but Dinamo are strong at home and could make things tough for the Gunners. You can back Arsenal at 8/15 with bet365.

The best result that the home side can be expected to achieve is a draw and it will require a disciplined performance to achieve it. The bookmakers don’t fancy that result either and will give you a very generous 10/3 for the stalemate.

Theo Walcott has recently found his scoring boots for club and country and can be backed at 6/4 with bet365 to score anytime.

Go To bet365
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Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (16/09/2015) but are subject to change.

16/09/2015     © Frixo 2024

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