UEFA Champions League: Legia Warsaw vs. Dinamo Zagreb Preview, Odds, Prediction

Without a doubt, the most interesting matchup of this stage of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers will take place in Warsaw, where Legia meets with Dinamo Zagreb. A lot happened during, before, and after the first leg in Croatia, and that especially goes for off-field matters, as Dinamo’s hooligans smashed Legia’s ultras. The situation on the pitch promises excitement as well because neither side has an edge, with the game at Makismir concluding 1-1. Both teams took a weekend off in the domestic championships to prepare better for the upcoming challenge, which tells you how serious their intentions are.

Preview

Legia (+260) might be an underdog according to the bookmakers, but in our opinion, that isn’t the case, and the result in Croatia backs that up. The Polish champions aren’t an attractive or exciting team to watch, but they know how to play when it gets tough. After all, how else would they win the domestic title?

Legia began its preparations more than six weeks ago, and they are entering this clash with full speed, with high morale, even though they didn’t win in the previous two games – losing to Radomiak on the road, 3-1 besides playing 1-1 against Dinamo.

Yet in three competitive matches at home, they are close to perfect, posting wins over Bodo 2-0 and Flora, 2-1, both in the UCL and Wisla Plock, 1-0. Once playing at Stadion Wojska Polskiego, it is very hard to breach their defense.

Dinamo Zagreb (+120) had a wonderful last year once they reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League, and lost to the future winners, Villareal.

This team has several extra-talented players and a few national team members, which could be a problem, as these individuals didn’t have enough time to rest following a busy summer.

Dinamo played 3-3 with Rijeka before Legia, and prior to these two games, the Blues had three consecutive victories, all with clean sheets. Overall, the club from Zagreb had five contests in a row before the two above-mentioned, with only one side netting.

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The only questionable player on the home team is Bartosz Kapustka. All others are healthy and ready to take on the rivals.

Arijan Ademi, Dinamo’s captain and arguably the best player, has had certain troubles with his thigh injury for quite some time, and it is possible that we don’t see him in the starting lineup.

Head to Head Games

The second 45 minutes of the match in Zagreb was excellent, with two goals and several chances on both ends. Bruno Petkovic scored for the home team after an hour of play, while Muci leveled the result eight minutes before the end.

Prediction

Knowing Legia, we shouldn’t expect to see too many goals. The Polish team will wait for Dinamo’s mistake, while on the other side, the guests from Zagreb won’t be keen to open and have some offensive approach. Dinamo’s results indicate that they, too, like to play patiently and without any rush. Therefore, our pick for this match is under 2.5 goals, with the odds for that -125.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals, -125