Celtic travel to Croatia for their latest Champions League encounter against Dinamo Zagreb…and the teams could hardly be in different frames of mind.
The Hoops weren't at their best at the weekend and handed Hibs plenty of chances yet still romped to a 3-0 win to make it 13 games unbeaten since a disastrous and embarrassing 7-1 loss at Borussia Dortmund.
In that spell, they are unbeaten in three Champions League games where they drew away in Italy to Atalanta and at home to Club Brugge while easily beating RB Leipzig in between.
They look unstoppable in Scotland and have certainly improved hugely in Europe which had been Brendan Rodgers' achilles heel.
Contrast that to a Dinamo side who are struggling badly with form and a seriously long injury list.
Their 1-1 draw at home to Slaven Belupo on Friday was their fifth game in a row without a win and manager Nenad Bjelica claimed they will have only 14 fit players to face Celtic.
Their board even had to send an open letter to their unhappy fans to placate them ahead of the clash. However, they have defeated Slovan Bratislava and Red Bull Salzburg so far in the group.
How the bookies view it: Celtic backed into favouritism
Celtic have had plenty of support among punters and have been backed into 13/10 favourites with William Hill.
Dinamo Zagreb are now 21/10 with the same firm and the draw is 13/5 with Ladbrokes.
Recent head to heads: Home advantage counts
The clubs are no strangers and have previously met on six occasions – Dinamo Zagreb have won all three meetings at home and Celtic have won all three in Glasgow.
Players to watch: Sandro to score?
Dinamo Zagreb hitman Sandro Kulenovic is the main danger man for the hosts with 13 goals already so far this season.He is 13/5 to score anytime with Paddy Power.
Kyogo Furuhashi didn't start on Saturday and will be fresh for this, especially after coming off the bench to score a wonderful goal against Hibs. The Japanese ace is decent value at 13/5 to score anytime with UniBet.
Predicted line-ups:
Dinamo Zagreb have plenty of injury concerns as stated with as many as seven players expected to miss out on Tuesday. captain and North Macedonian international Arijan Ademi, keeper Ivan Nevistic, Croatian internationals Petar Sucic, Bruno Petkovic, Josip Misic, Colombian striker Juan Cordoba and Spanish stopper Raul Torrente.
In contrast, Celtic have a clean bill of health ahead of their trip to the Balkans.
Dinamo Zagreb: Zagorac, Moharrami, Theophile-Catherine, Bernauer, Pierre-Gabriel, Kacavenda, Ademi, Mbuku, Stojkovic, Hoxha, Kulenovic.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Kuhn, Maeda, Kyogo.
Anything else catch the eye?
This Celtic team appear to have matured in Europe with each performance and they look too strong for a Dinamo Zagreb side in crisis.
Assuming they don't freeze at the Maksimir – which isn't half as intimidating as it used to be – they really should be too good for their understrength hosts.
They have plenty of firepower and they should also be backed to score at least two goals at 11/10 with Ladbrokes.
This looks like a golden opportunity to get a rare away win and Celtic should take it.
This UEFA Champions League match between Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic will be played on Dec 10, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Dinamo Zagreb vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
