Dinamo Zagreb will host Real Betis in the second leg of the Europa League on Thursday. After winning by a slim 1-0 margin at Estadio Benito Villamarin last week, the Croatian team is ahead.
Preview (Dinamo Zagreb vs. Real Betis)
In the first leg, Dinamo Zagreb made a small bit of history when they defeated Betis to win away from home against Spanish opponents in UEFA competitions. The Croatian champions had never won in their seven prior trips to Spain. That all changed in Andalusia when Bruno Petkovic scored a penalty goal in the 75th minute. In Saturday’s league matchup at home against Varazdin, Petkovic accomplished the same feat. He scored a penalty kick in the first half to lead his team to a 1-0 victory. Sergej Jakirovic will be happy that Dinamo Zagreb has won four of their previous five competitive games (D1). His squad has kept clean sheets in all four of those wins. After losing the first leg, Los Verdiblancos played a lackluster goalless draw against Alaves. It extended their winless streak at home to four games.
Betis has won their previous two away games against Mallorca and Cadiz. It is at least something, but their recent home form will be worrying. They did, however, have mixed results when traveling through the Europa League group stage. They lost to Sparta Prague and Rangers and won by a slim margin against Aris Limassol. In an attempt to make it to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for a third straight year, Betis will be hoping for a solid away performance in Croatia.
Team News
Due to injuries, the hosts are anticipated to be missing Sadegh Moharrami, Bosko Sutalo, Marko Rog, and Luka Stojkovic. Jakirovic might be tempted to go back to the lineup that began the first leg after making several changes over the weekend. With four goals in his last three games, Petkovic, 29, will continue to lead the line for the home team. He hopes to build on his current winning streak. Abner, Marc Batra, Isco, Guido Rodriguez, and Ayoze Perez are among the visitors’ injured list members. Winter arrivals Pablo Fornals and Chimy Avila are not listed with the Europa Conference League. Due to a string of yellow cards, German Pezzella will serve a one-match suspension and is unavailable for the Spanish team.
Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Real Betis
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