Monaco will be looking to make it two wins from two in the Champions League when they meet Dinamo Zagreb at the Maksimir Stadium on Wednesday night.
Adi Hutter’s side pulled off arguably the biggest shock of matchday one with a 2-1 success against La Liga giants Barcelona.
The Principality club have since pocketed maximum points form their subsequent two Ligue 1 matches, meaning they continue to keep pace with PSG at the top of the table.
The Red and Whites will be looking to keep the feelgood factor flowing by claiming top honours in the Croatian capital this midweek.
Dinamo Zagreb endured a nightmare start to their Champions League campaign after being mauled 9-2 by Bayern Munich, on a night where our man Vlad delivered a clean sweep of winners.
That bruising setback in Bavaria prompted the Blues board to bin manager Sergej Jakirovic, who has since been replaced by Nenad Bjelica.
How the bookies view it: Dinamo destined for another defeat
Dinamo Zagreb are big outsiders at 18/5 on Betano, while a share of the Maksimir Stadium spoils is an unfancied 3/1 with the same bookmaker.
Monaco are short priced 4/6 favourites on Betano to bag what would be a fifth win in succession across all competitions.
Head to head: A first-ever encounter
As is the case for a number of sides in this season’s new look Champions League format, Dinamo Zagreb and Monaco will do battle for the first time on Wednesday night.
The Croatian powerhouse last came up against French opposition way back in 2012, losing to PSG both home and away.
Players to watch: Keep an eye on Camara
Lamine Camara has been committing fouls on a regular basis for Monaco this season. The Senegalese midfielder has sinned twice or more in four of his five Ligue 1 outings this season, making the 49/50 (UniBet) about a repeat here an attractive option.
Bruno Petkovic has scored in each of his last three outings for Dinamo Zagreb, and he is as big as 3/1 (UniBet) to maintain his scoring streak this midweek.
Predicted line-ups
New Dinamo Zagreb boss Bjelica could go with the same set of players that made light work of Lokomotiva Zagreb in Saturday’s 5-1 derby success.
Monaco will be without injured duo Edan Diop and Radoslaw Majecki for this week’s trip to the Maksimir Stadium.
Dinamo Zagreb: Nevisitic; Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Mmaee, Pierre-Gabriel; Ademi, Sucic; Cordoba, Baturina, Pjaca; Petkovic
Monaco: Kohn; Vanderson, Kehrer, Mawissa Elebi, Caio Henrique; Camara, Zakaria; Akliouche, Minamino, Ben Seghir; Embolo
Anything else catch the eye?
While the new league phase of the competition is still in its infancy, the outcome of this contest could go a long way to deciding both of these team’s respective qualification hopes.
As such, siding with over 4.5 cards stands out at even-money (1/1 ) on Unibet.
Monaco’s aforementioned 2-1 win over Barcelona was a bad-tempered affair, with both teams sharing seven yellow cards and one red.
It’s also worth pointing out that referee Harm Osmers has handed out five or more cards in each of his last four continental contests.
This UEFA Champions League match between Dinamo Zagreb and Monaco will be played on Oct 2, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Dinamo Zagreb vs Monaco prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
