Dinamo Zagreb will host Sparta Praha in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff-round tie on Thursday at the Maksimir Stadium.
Dinamo Zagreb will host Sparta Praha in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff-round tie on Thursday at the Maksimir Stadium. Both teams have suffered heartbreaking defeats in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying rounds. Dinamo had a two-goal advantage in the stoppage-time of their rematch in Athens with AEK on Saturday. However, Zagreb conceded two shocking goals to get eliminated in the dying minutes of the affair. As a result, the situation in and around Dinamo’s dressing room is far from ideal after the elimination at the hands of AEK Athens. The Zagreb outfit has already lost key centre-back Josip Sutalo who left for Ajax in a €20 million deal. Added to that, star goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic is on the brink of a move to Fenerbahce. These two departures will severely damage Dinamo’s back line.
On the other side, Sparta dropped the extra-time lead over FC Copenhagen. This happened twice, in the return leg as well. Eventually, the Czech side edged out in the penalty shootouts. Sparta is firing on all cylinders in the final third these days and their impressive attacking line could cause Dinamo massive problems in this matchup. The team led by Danish manager Brian Priske own the best-attacking record in Czech Liga with 14 goals in the opening 5 rounds of the season. They’ve slipped up for the first time this season domestically by playing only a 1-1 stalemate away at Teplice. Nevertheless, this result can be taken with a pinch of salt. However, the result against Copenhagen might give a few jitters to Sparta.
Dinamo Zagreb’s probable starting lineup: Livakovic, Moharrami, Ristovski, Sutalo, Ljubicic, Bulat, Misic, Spikic, Mykhailichenko, Ivanusec, Petkovic
Sparta Praha’s probable starting lineup: Vindahl, Vitik, Panak, Krejci II, Mejdr, Pavelka, Laci, M.Rynes, Mincev, Kuchta, Haraslin
Dinamo Zagreb
| Opponents | Score |
| AEK | 2-2 (D) |
| AEK | 1-2 (L) |
| Gorica | 0-0 (D) |
| Astana | 0-2 (W) |
| Istra | 0-3 (W) |
Sparta Praha
| Opponents | Score |
| Teplice | 1-1 (D) |
| Copenhagen | 3-3 (L) (p.s.o 2-4) |
| Jablonec | 1-5 (W) |
| Copenhagen | 0-0 (D) |
| Pardubice | 5-2 (W) |
| Last match-result | Score |
| Dinamo Zagreb draw Sparta Praha | 1-1 |
The UEFA Europa League Qualification match between Dinamo Zagreb and Sparta Praha will take place at the Maksimir Stadium on Thursday at 11:30 pm IST.
| Dinamo Zagreb vs Sparta Praha | Key Details |
| Date | August 24 (Croatia) |
| Venue | Maksimir Stadium |
| Kickoff time in the Czech Republic | 8:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in Croatia | 8:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:30 pm |
The qualification matches of the UEFA Europa League can be watched on the official website of UEFA worldwide. For Chinese fans, this match will be telecasted on QQ Sports Live. On the other hand, Croatian fans can watch the match on MAXtv To Go and MAX Sport 1. However, there will be no telecast of this match in India.
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