Salzburg continue their search for a first Champions League win of the season on Wednesday when they host fellow European strugglers Dinamo Zagreb.
Pep Lijnders’ side have endured two hefty defeats in the Champions League, starting with a 3-0 loss at the hands of Sparta Prague which was followed by a 4-0 thrashing against Brest. The Austrian giants were also hammered 5-0 by domestic foes Sturm Graz before the international break to further dent confidence levels at the Red Bull Arena.
Dinamo Zagreb know a thing or two about embarrassing Champions League defeats after they were beaten 9-2 by Bayern Munich in their opening match. They set the unwanted record of conceding the most goals of any team in a single outing in the competition but responded with a 2-2 draw against Monaco on matchday two. The frustrating part for new boss Nenad Bjelica is that his side surrendered a two-goal lead.
Here is 90min’s guide to Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
Salzburg vs Dinamo Zagreb H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
How to watch Salzburg vs Dinamo Zagreb on TV – UK and US
Salzburg team news
Salzburg have their fair share of injury issues as things stand with Fernando, Gaoussou Diakite, Takumu Kawamura, Dorgeles Nene, Moussa Yeo and Petar Ratkov all unavailable to Lijnders.
However, Salzburg do have some impressive youngsters within their ranks to make up for their long injury list, with former Liverpool midfielder Bobby Clark and current Reds loanee Stefan Bajcetic both likely to feature in some way on Wednesday.
Premier League-linked Oscar Gloukh is also available to Lijnders, while Kopa Trophy nominee Karim Konate should lead the line.
Salzburg predicted lineup vs Dinamo Zagreb
Salzburg predicted lineup vs Dinamo Zagreb (4-3-3): Blaswich; Dedic, Piatkowski, S. Baidoo, Terzic; Bidstrup, Gourna-Douath, Kjaergaard; E. Baidoo, Konate, Gloukh.
Dinamo Zagreb team news
Manager Nenad Bjelica will not be on the touchline for the trip to Salzburg – he’s banned for one game after being sent off against Monaco – but can take comfort from having few injury problems to contend with.
While they have conceded 11 times in two Champions League matches, Dinamo have also scored four times against Bayern and Monaco. Croatia international Bruno Petkovic will be key when leading the line, while attacking midfielder Martin Baturina has also been in fine form with seven assists and two goals in all competitions.
Dinamo Zagreb predicted lineup vs Salzburg (3-5-1-1): Nevistic; Bernauer, Theophile-Catherine, Torrente; Ristovski, Ademi, Sucic, Misic, Pierre-Gabriel; Baturina; Petkovic.
Salzburg vs Dinamo Zagreb score prediction
This feels like a must-win match for both sides if they harbour chances of making the play-off round, especially for Salzburg given they face Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in their final four league phase games.
While the Lijnders era has got off to a bumpy start, Salzburg certainly have the attacking quality to taste victory on Wednesday and finally get some points on the board. It will be a tight game but home advantage may earn Salzburg a narrow win.
