Dinamo Zagreb vs Istra 1961 Prediction: Cannavaro’s first match in Croatian HNL

This weekend, the Croatian National League is finally back on the scene, and the match that is definitely generating the most interest is between Dinamo and Istra. This is the debut of the new coach of the "blues", Fabio Cannavaro, in Croatian club football. Three days earlier, he lost with Dinamo on the road to Arsenal, and next week he still has to play a home match with Milan in the Champions League. So, Dinamo have a challenging schedule at the beginning of the second part of the season. Let's not forget Dinamo’s gap to Hajduk and Rijeka, which is 7 points. So, the "blues" have to win, and in series. However, they have problems with injuries. So, Bruno Petkovic is still troubled by an adductor, and Petar Susic is out of action and could even leave the club this winter. I expect a great match in Zagreb and for me, Dinamo even though are in crisis are big favorite in this match.

Dinamo Zagreb

Form: LDWDW

Dinamo are in very poor form in all competitions, with only two wins in the last ten games. Incredibly, Dinamo have only recorded two HNL wins in a row once since September. A truly shocking fact. Regardless, Dinamo remains a firm favorite in this duel. They are eager to make up for the points they lost in Pula during the fall. Sandro Kulenovic should help them in this, as a center forward, and it seems that the talented Luka Stojković will also get a lot of space under Cannavaro. Martin Baturina will also go forward in this match, while Maxime Bernauer and Arijan Ademi should take care of a lot of running and ball control in the midfield. Marko Rog also seems to be getting space with the Italian specialist, while the absences in defense could complicate the arrangement of the defense for this match. Dinamo are in 3rd place with 29 points, eight wins, five draws, and five defeats.

Istra 1961

Form: WDLDD

On the other hand, Istra, which also appointed new manager Gonzalo Garcia, had several notable performances in the opening part of the season but are still in the danger zone and must continue to collect points. There are several interesting players in this team. It is primarily Mateo Lisica who stands out with his goals, while the Georgian Giorgi Gagua and the Nigerian Salim Lawal also play in the offensive. In the midfield, Istra have the experienced Slavko Blagojevic, and the young Beyatt Lekoueiry from Mauritania, who stood out with several excellent moves in the previous matches. Marcel Heister and Dario Maresic, on the other hand, lead the defensive ranks, which will have to play at their best, so that Lovro Majkic does not receive a handful of goals at Maksimir. Istra are in eighth place in the table and they drew the last three matches in the league. Even though this team improved with Garcia on the bench, I don’t think that they can “hurt” Dinamo in Zagreb.

Expert Betting Tips

As I expected, bookmakers see Dinamo as a clear favorite in this match, regardless of the mistake they made in Pula in the previous match. I, on the other hand, believe that this will be a duel in which there will be no shortage of goals. On the one hand, the host wants to show that they are ready to hunt down the leaders in the standings. On the other hand, Istra can't wait to take advantage of every mistake made by the "blue" defense. That's why I recommend betting on over 2.5 goals in the match, of course, it can be combined with a home win and Dinamo to score more than 2.5 goals.

Our prediction for the match is over 2.5 goals for the odds of 1.76 at 1xbet.

Our second prediction home win and over 2.5 goals for odds of 2.05 at Betway.

Our third prediction – team 1 over 2.5 goals for odds of 2.5 at Bet365.