Dinamo Zagreb vs Lokomotiva Zagreb Prediction: The visitors are playing only for a pride

In the postponed match of the fourth round of the Croatian HNL, Dinamo Zagreb will welcome their city rival, Lokomotiva Zagreb, at Maksimir. Dinamo are a big favorite in this match, and anything but their victory would be a big surprise. With a win here Dinamo can reduce the gap between them and Hajduk Split, right before the start of the second part of the season, so this is a very important match for the “Blues” from Zagreb.

Form: WWWWW

Although Dinamo were dominant in previous seasons compared to their competitors in the national championship, one gets the impression that this year the situation will be slightly different. Before this match, the home team is in third place in the table, with seven points less than the leader and biggest rival, Hajduk from Split. However, Dinamo have two games less, and if they manage to win both matches, that gap will be reduced to just one point. In addition, Rijeka are also in the race for the title and there is no doubt that a more exciting fight for the Croatian HNL League awaits us. Dinamo can also boast of their performance in Europe, considering that they finished the group stage of the Conference League in second place and thus made it to the 1/32 finals of the youngest UEFA competition. Their opponent in that match will be Betis, and there is no doubt that the team from Zagreb will have an extremely difficult task to advance to the next round.

Form: DWWWD

Lokomotiva Zagreb are in sixth place in the table, with 21 points won, without much chance of qualifying for Europe next year, given that their current rival, Dinamo Zagreb, are in 3rd position, 13 points away. Lokomotiva do not have to worry about survival, considering that they already have 17 points at this moment. advantages compared to the last-placed Rudes. After two championship draws and a triumph at the end of 2023, Lokomotiva played three friendly matches in which they recorded two wins and a draw, and it remains to be seen what form they are in ahead of the duel with their city rival, whom they failed to defeat in the previous eight matches.

Dinamo Zagreb won the previous five championship duels between these rivals, and what is interesting is that four of those five matches ended with a score of 2:1. Dinamo Zagreb are a far better rival compared to Lokomotiva, and the fact that with a possible setback in this match, they would further increase the point gap behind the championship leader, Hajduk, makes it even more imperative for the host to win. Given that four of the five previous H2H duels between Dinamo and Lokomotiv ended with a 2:1 victory for the “Blues”, this time I decided to bet on a home win and over 2.5 goals, or on a somewhat riskier bet in the hope that the rivals would respect the tradition this time as well, a home win and BTTS.