Dinamo Zagreb vs Rijeka Prediction: Derby of the round in Croatia

It's as if Dinamo got us used to playing high-pressure matches on their Maksimir this summer. One of those will be played on Sunday night, and the stakes are really high. Who is the director of this drama, anyone who has been closely following HNL these past few days might wonder. Dinamo "stole" the manager from Rijeka, Sergej Jakirovic arrived on the bench of the club from Maksimir almost overnight, and the next match in the HNL will be between these two teams! On top of all that, both Dinamo, which are not doing well in the domestic competition, and Rijeka, had tough tests on Thursday in European competitions.

Form: WDLDW

In the last round of qualification for the European League, Dinamo defeated Sparta Prague at home with a score of 3:1. Although the visiting team was the first to take the lead in the 39th minute with a goal from the penalty spot, the home team managed to turn the score in their favor. They equalized five minutes later with a goal by Dario Spikic and took the lead in the 59th minute with a goal by Dino Peric. The final score was set by Luka Ivanusec two minutes later, after which there were no more score changes. The team from Zagreb played only three league games in the current part of the championship and registered one win, one draw, and one loss each. In the Champions League qualifiers, they were eliminated by the Greek AEK with a total score of 4:3, and the rematch against Sparta awaits them on August 31. In this transfer window, three important players, Josip Sutalo, Dominik Livakovic, and Luka Ivanusec, left Dinamo, while in the last two days, they brought in a duo from Lokomotiva, Luka Stojkovic and Lukas Kacavenda. Manager Sergej Jakirovic has no problems with injured players, and it is expected that the strongest starting line-up, including Stojkovic on the wing, will take the field on Sunday.

Form: LWWWW

In the last competitive match, Rijeka was defeated by Lille away from home with a score of 2:1, in the qualifications for the Conference League. Although the visiting team was the first to take the lead in the 24th minute through Marc Pasalic, they still failed to preserve the result that was on their side. The home team equalized at the end of the first half, and at the very end of the match, they won. Rijeka are playing surprisingly well this season, and in nine competitive games, they have recorded as many as seven wins and two losses. In the league, they occupy the third position on the table with nine points won. Probably the manager Zeljko Sopic will not make many changes in the starting line-up, because the team showed a good game in the match against Lokomotiva. Also, the team's coaching staff did not report any injuries before this match.

All three times last season, Dinamo came out victorious, and the match in Kvarner, when it was even 2:7, is memorable. However, Rijeka also knows how to surprise, so since 2003 they have won 20 times over Dinamo, with 44 victories for the Blues. Although Dinamo are the clear favorite in this match, we believe that it will not be so easy to win because of the departure of key players, as well as the excellent form of Rijeka recently. Therefore, we are betting on a draw at halftime and a win at the end for Dinamo.