AEK Athens will be aiming to claim a first-leg advantage when they welcome Dinamo Zagreb to Greece in the third qualifying round of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The home side are yet to officially begin their 2023-24 campaign, but Dinamo have already had to overcome Astana to advance to the third qualifying round of this season's European Cup.
Match preview
AEK Athens won the top tier of Greek football for the 13th time last season, finishing top of the pile with 83 points, which saw them secure a spot in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
The Yellow-Blacks are yet to officially begin their 2023-24 campaign, but they have played five friendlies this summer, winning each of their last four, including a 3-1 success over Trabzonspor last time out.
AEK Athens will not begin their domestic season until August 19, so they can fully concentrate on both legs of this contest, and the Greek giants will know the importance of making the most of home advantage.
Matias Almeyda's side have made six signings during the summer market, with Orbelin Pineda and Ezequiel Ponce among those to arrive from Celta Vigo and Elche respectively.
Union famously reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup during the 1968-69 season, but they have not managed to qualify for the group stage of the competition since the 1994-95 campaign.
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Dinamo Zagreb, meanwhile, are the reigning Croatian champions, finishing 10 points clear of second-placed Hajduk Split at the top of the pile last season.
The Blues have already started their 2023-24 campaign, claiming four points from their opening three matches, which has left them in fourth position in the table.
Igor Biscan's side had to overcame Astana to advance to this round of the competition, winning 4-0 against the Kazakhstan outfit in the first leg at home before running out 2-0 winners away to triumph 6-0 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb will enter this match off the back of a goalless draw with HNK Gorica in the league on Saturday, and the fact that they have already started their domestic campaign could help them, but AEK Athens will be the fresher of the two sides for both legs.
The Citizens played in the group stage of last season's Champions League, but they finished bottom of a section which also included Chelsea, AC Milan and Red Bull Salzburg.
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Team News
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AEK Athens are likely to have at least two debutants in their starting side for this match, with Pineda and Ponce both likely to be named in the XI on Tuesday night.
Fellow new arrival Konstantinos Chrysopoulos could also feature at some stage for the home side, while there will be a start at centre-forward for Levi Garcia, who scored 18 times for the club last term.
Nordin Amrabat was another to enjoy a strong 2022-23 campaign, scoring eight times in 34 appearances, and the experienced attacker should also be in the starting side here.
Dinamo's XI, meanwhile, is likely to be very similar to the one that took to the field for the second leg of the second qualifying round contest against Astana on August 2.
There will undoubtedly be a start for Luka Ivanusec, with the 24-year-old starting the season in excellent fashion, finding the back of the net on four occasions in four appearances.
Bruno Petkovic is also already off the mark for the new season and will feature in the final third of the field, while Dario Spikic should make his sixth appearance of the campaign in a wide area.
AEK Athens possible starting lineup:
Stankovic; Radonja, Vida, Mitoglou, Moukoudi; Amrabat, Pineda, Mantalos, Gacinovic; Ponce, Garcia
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Moharrami, Ljubicic, Sutalo, Ristovski; Misic, Sucic; Ivanusec, Mykhailichenko, Spikic; Petkovic
We say: AEK Athens 1-1 Dinamo Zagreb
AEK Athens will be aware of the importance of claiming a strong result ahead of the return fixture in Croatia, and we are expecting a tight game on Tuesday night. The hosts have a lot of quality in the final third of the field, and we are backing them to take a relatively positive result into the second leg of the contest.
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Matt Law
