Dinamo Zagreb welcome Sparta Prague to Stadion Maksimir for the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday night.
The two teams have dropped down from the Champions League qualifiers after losing in the third qualifying round and they are now bidding to qualify for the Europa League group stage.
Match preview
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After competing in the Champions League group stage last season, Dinamo Zagreb came up short in qualification for the same stage this term following their 4-3 aggregate defeat to Greek champions AEK Athens, including a 2-2 second-leg draw last week.
Zagreb lost the first leg 2-1 on home soil, but they appeared to be in control of the second leg as they boasted a 2-0 lead heading into second-half stoppage time (winning 3-2 on aggregate). However, AEK Athens dramatically turned the tie on its head with two strikes in the 92nd and 101st minutes of added-on time to help the Greek outfit prevail on aggregate and demote Zagreb to Europa League qualifying.
Just hours after the defeat, Dinamo decided to sack manager Igor Biscan less than five months into his reign, with Sergej Jakirovic having since been poached from Rijeka to be appointed as his successor.
Jakirovic, who is keen to quickly implement an attacking brand of football at Dinamo, has insisted that there is "no time to grieve" the defeat to AEK Athens and believes that his players must instead "draw lessons" from the setback as they embark on a new era under the Bosnian boss.
Dinamo enter Thursday's clash with Sparta Prague seeking to put aside their inconsistent start to the new season on home soil, having won two, lost two and drawn one of their opening five games at Stadion Maksimir across all competitions.
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After failing to qualify for European competition last season, Sparta Prague are guaranteed at least a Europa Conference League spot this season even if they lose over two legs against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League playoff round.
However, their hopes of returning to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2005-06 were ended last week after they suffered a 4-2 defeat on penalties to Copenhagen following a 3-3 draw on aggregate over two legs.
Four goals were scored in extra time during Sparta's enthralling second-leg clash with Copenhagen, but the Danish giants prevailed in the shootout after both Ladislav Krejci and Asger Sorensen failed to convert from 12 yards.
Krejci's week got worse as he was sent off in Sparta's 1-1 draw away against Teplice in the Czech First Division last Saturday, with Brian Priske's side forced to settle for just a point after conceding an 85th-minute equaliser.
Seeking to return to winning ways, Sparta renew acquaintances with Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday after playing out a 1-1 friendly draw with the Croatian outfit in pre-season last month. The previous two competitive meetings between the two teams also ended as draws, with Sparta prevailing via the away goals rule after drawing 3-3 over two legs in a Europa League first-round qualifier in 2008-09.
Team News
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Dinamo Zagreb have no injury concerns ahead of Thursday's tie, but centre-back Josip Sutalo has played his last game for the club after completing a reported €21m transfer to Ajax on Monday.
Sutalo could be replaced in the first XI by brother Bosko Sutalo or summer signing Maxime Bernauer, joining Stefan Ristovski at the heart of defence, with Sadegh Moharrami and Robert Ljubicic set to continue at full-back.
Jakirovic is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his midfield and attack, with Bruno Petkovic expected the lead the line in between wingers Dario Spikic and Luka Ivanusec – the latter of whom has scored four goals in six games so far this season.
As for Sparta Prague, Priske will likely name a similar starting lineup to the one that faced Copenhagen last week, which could see Asger Sorensen recalled at centre-back at the expense of Martin Vitik.
Lukas Sadilek and Kaan Kairinen will be pushing to start in centre-midfield ahead of David Pavelka and Qazim Laci, while Veljko Birmancevic, Jan Kuchta and Lukas Haraslin – who have scored eight goals between them in six games so far this season – are all set to start in attack.
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Moharrami, Ristovski, Bernauer, Ljubicic; Bulat, Misic; Spikic, Mykhaylichenko, Ivanusec; Petkovic
Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:
Vindahl Jensen; Sorensen, Panak, Krejci; Wiesner, Kairinen, Sadilek, Zeleny; Birmancevic, Kuchta, Haraslin
We say: Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Sparta Prague
Jakirovic is tasked with making an immediate impact in charge of Dinamo Zagreb, who will be looking to put aside their Champions League qualification exit with a positive result at home against Sparta Prague.
There has been little to separate these two teams in previous meetings and another closely-fought contest could be on the cards on Thursday, which could result in a share of the spoils to keep the tie nicely poised ahead of next week's second leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
