Preview: Dinamo Zagreb vs Real Betis - prediction, team news, lineups

Spanish side Real Betis will travel to Croatia for Thursday's Europa League clash with Dinamo Zagreb at the Maksimir Stadium.

Los Verdiblancos are sitting in fifth spot in the league phase, while Dinamo are down in 23rd place in the standings.

Match preview

Dinamo are operating just inside the top 24 after winning two, drawing one and losing two of their five league phase matches.

The Croatian side started the main draw with wins against Fenerbahce and Maccabi Tel Aviv, before playing out a 1-1 draw in their away meeting with Malmo on matchday three.

However, they have since experienced a disappointing drop off, having lost their last two Europa League games against Celta Vigo and Lille by a combined 7-0 scoreline.

Mario Kovacevic's side bounced back with a 2-0 win over Gorica in the HNL, before they rescued a 1-1 draw in Saturday's derby against Hajduk Split, thanks to Arber Hoxha's dramatic equaliser in the 12th minute of stoppage time. 

Dinamo will now turn their focus back to their bid to reach a European knockout stage for the second time in three seasons, with the Croatian side holding a narrow one-point advantage over 25th place ahead of their final two league phase fixtures against Betis and FCSB.

Thursday's hosts have won five of their previous seven competitive home games, although their only defeat in that period took place against Spanish opposition with November's 3-0 loss to Celta. 

© Imago / IMAGO / Pressinphoto

Betis currently occupy a top-eight spot after winning three and drawing two of their five league phase matches. 

They started the main draw with draws against Nottingham Forest and Genk, either side of a 2-0 success against Ludogorets, before going on to record back-to-back European victories.

After beating Lyon 2-0 in France, Betis recorded a narrow 2-1 home victory over Utrecht on matchday five, thanks to goals from Cucho Hernandez and Abde Ezzalzouli.

Los Verdiblancos followed that successful result with a derby win against Sevilla and a Copa del Rey victory against Torrent, before they were abruptly stopped in their tracks by Saturday's 5-3 home defeat to Barcelona, representing the first time that they have conceded three goals or more this season. 

Despite experiencing disappointment at home, Betis should be confident about their chances of bouncing back with a positive result, having avoided defeat in all 11 of their competitive away games this season (W5, D6).

Manuel Pellegrini's side will also take confidence from the fact that they have scored two goals or more in seven of their last nine away matches. 

Dinamo Zagreb Europa League form:

Dinamo Zagreb form (all competitions):

Real Betis Europa League form:

Real Betis form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / Pressinphoto

The hosts are expected to be without Moris Valincic, Raul Torrente, Robert Mudrazija, Moreno Zivkovic, Mateo Lisica and Cardoso Varela.

Ismael Bennacer and Ronael Pierre-Gabriel will drop out of the squad after they were omitted from Dinamo’s squad list for the league phase. 

Noa Mikic will be hoping to shake off the issue that forced him off in the second half of Dinamo’s draw with Hadjuk Split at the weekend.

Betis defender Junior Firpo picked up a hamstring injury in Saturday’s substitute appearance against Barcelona, while Hector Bellerin and Isco are unlikely to recover from their injury issues in time for Thursday’s away trip.

Midfielder Sofyan Amrabat has been given permission to link up with the Morocco squad to continue his recovery from a foot problem ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Full-back Ricardo Rodriguez will serve a one-match ban after picking up his fifth yellow card of the league phase in the last European outing against Utrecht.

Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:

Filipovic; Mikic; Dominguez, McKenna, Perez Vinlof; Ljubicic, Misic, Zajc; Bakrar, Hoxha, Beljo

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Valles; Ortiz, Llorente, Natan, Gomez; Altimira, Deossa, Fornals; Antony, Ezzalzouli, Bakambu

We say: Dinamo Zagreb 1-2 Real Betis

Dinamo have already lost at home to a Spanish side this season, and we think they could fall to another defeat against a Betis team that have proven to be a strong force on their travels this season. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.