Dinamo Zagreb vs Monaco

Stadio Makismir hosts Dinamo Zagreb’s redemption-driven UEFA Champions League contest against a relentless Monaco side.

Dinamo Zagreb couldn’t have imagined a worse way to embark on their first Champions League main-stage campaign since 2022/23, as they became the first time in the competition’s history to concede nine goals in one match. Bayern Munich humbled the Croatian champions 9-2 in Germany, accelerating the dismissal of former manager Sergej Jakirovic. After a disappointing episode at Union Berlin, Nenad Bjelica has returned to Makismir to help Dinamo Zagreb regroup after a disastrous European start. He’ll look to maintain Dinamo’s momentum after two emphatic domestic victories under caretaker boss Sandro Perkovic, with the Blues hoping to make it out of the Champions League group/league phase for the first time in club history. But French teams have often been Dinamo’s scourge on the continental front, evidenced by their underwhelming win ratio of only 17.65% across their previous 17 H2Hs (W3, D3, L11).

Unlike their hosts, Monaco enjoyed a memorable Champions League start, overcoming 10-man Barcelona 2-1 at home to become the first team to beat Hansi Flick’s side in any competition this season. Understandably buoyed by that result, Adi Hutter’s side resumed their Ligue 1 title charge with back-to-back wins against Le Havre and Montpellier to protect their near-perfect competitive record in 2024/25 (W6, D1). Hutter has seemingly found a cure for Monaco’s long-standing defensive issues, with the French outfit conceding just four goals across those seven matches. Moreover, Monaco fared well in foreign lands last season, gathering points on three of their four away trips in the Europa League (W2, D1, L1), suggesting a first Champions League knockout qualification since 2016/17 could be in store.