Dinamo Zagreb vs Omonia Nicosia

Stadion Maksimir is the venue as Dinamo Zagreb host Omonia Nicosia for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifying quarter-final tie.

Dinamo Zagreb’s first-round qualifying tie against Valur Reykjavik provided plain sailing, with the Croatian juggernauts coming out victorious 5-2 on aggregate (3-2 H, 2-0 A). Damir Krznar’s side won the first half ‘to nil’ in both legs, showcasing the potential for some eye-catching displays before half-time. However, the ‘Blues’ go into this showdown on the back of a frustrating 2-0 home defeat to domestic rivals Slaven Belupo that saw their imperious eight-game winning streak come to a halt. Before going down to Slaven, Dinamo had enjoyed a stunning eight-game unbeaten run on home turf across all competitions (W6, D2 – 90 mins only). Indeed, their previous such failure came at the hands of Villarreal in last season’s Europa League quarter-finals. Warm favorites to prevail here, Dinamo have suffered just one defeat in their previous eight European fixtures at home (W6, D1, L1).

In the meantime, Omonia’s path to the Champions League group stages begins here as they look to build on a penalty shoot-out victory over Anorthosis in the domestic Super Cup final. Friendlies included, the visitors go into this encounter unbeaten in nine matches on the bounce (W6, D3 – 90 mins only), though they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five outings in a row. Away from home, none of Omonia’s previous five competitive fixtures have ended level (W4, L1), with four of those five results (win/loss) seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. However, the ‘Queen’ will have to defy their disastrous Champions League qualifying record to overcome Dinamo here, having failed to progress from the qualifying series in any of their last 20 attempts.

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