Viktoria Plzen - Dinamo Zagreb predictions and free betting tips [09/11/2023]

The second game of the 4th round in the Group C of the Conference League will take place at the "Dusan Arena", where home team Viktoria Plzen are welcoming their guests from Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian side cannot afford a loss on the territory of the Czech Republic, otherwise their competitors may surpass them, demoting Dinamo to the 4th place if there is a draw in the parallel match and Sergei Yakirovich's protégés lose in theirs.

Predicted Line-ups

Viktoria Plzen: Stánek; Dvěřák, Hránač, Čermák; Kopič, Kovařík, Traoré, Čížek, Šulc, Jirka; Horý

Dinamo Zagreb: Nevistić; Vukčević, Šutalo, Perić, Ljubičić; Bulat, Mišić, Kārkliņš; Baturina, Emreli, Vidović

Viktoria Plzen

The Czech team is in an inverse situation, where they need to be more productive in the league and dedicate less energy to the European meetups. I could possibly be mistaken, but "Viktoria" simply need to reach the playoffs, not aspiring to claim 9 points in 3 matches of the 2nd round in the group stages.

In the First League, Miroslav Koubek's team is slightly inconsistent. "Viktoria" can potentially succumb to any team, even those found in the relegation zone. The Czech side is dealing with a multitude of defensive problems, primarily the lack of disciplined organisation off the ball. In the league, "Viktoria" from Plzen is surging forward more briskly, while in the continental games, we have seen a more pragmatic style of football from Koubek's side.

For some reason, "Viktoria Plzen" can't manage to look proficient both in the league and in the Conference League, as if it weren't permissible to act as a results-driven team in the domestic competition.

The first-choice goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk has returned to the starting eleven of "Viktoria Plzen" after an injury, but Milan Havel is still in the infirmary, having missed 23 matches due to injury. The rest of the team's members are fit, so "Viktoria Plzen" is well-prepared for the upcoming Conference League match. It'll be intriguing to see who will act as a forward against "Dinamo": either Matej Vydra or Tomáš Chorý, but it would be interesting to see them in conjunction if Koubek seriously considers these forwards together in the starting lineup.

Dinamo Zagreb

The Croatian capital team are slightly troubled in the primership. "Dinamo Zagreb" are perched at the 3rd place in the 1st HNL, slightly lagging behind "Rijeka" and "Hajduk". I believe they can feasibly catch up, they simply must avoid point loss in seemingly straightforward matches, such as playing against inferior "Varaždin", suffering an own goal and managing to equalise only in the 94th minute.

Here we also count the clashes with "Gorica" - a rather inconvenient opponent for "Dinamo Zagreb" and the minimal 1:0 loss to "Hajduk".

Although they've had few slip-ups, they still affect the competition for the top spot in the league. Even in the Conference League there was an unsuccessful encounter with "FC Balkans", where it seemed that "Dinamo Zagreb" should have taken the upper hand, but ended up being outplayed by Dada's charges in terms of efficiency.

Sergei Yakirovich has a seasoned and well-organised line-up at his disposal but these periodic failures need to be mended with deserving victories. "Dinamo Zagreb" has players fit to score. Mahir Emreli managed to send two balls in a row to the back of the net in recent matches, so it's quite possible we will see the Azerbaijani in the starting line-up for the match against "Viktoria Plzen" considering Bruno Petković's absence. Some defensive changes are anticipated, maybe Sergei Yakirovich will slightly tweak the backline, including semi-defensive players.

Head-To-Head

The first game was evenly balanced, with the decisive goal scored on a penalty kick by Tomáš Horý in the second half.

Match prediction: Viktoria Plzen - Dinamo Zagreb

There are matches that are difficult to predict and I think the showdown in the Czech Republic falls into that category, where one might misinterpret the approach of the teams in this particular meeting. I'll go for total under 2.5. It's possible that a draw would suit "Viktoria", and for "Dinamo Zagreb", maintaining an unbeaten status is more important than pursuing a victory at the risk of losing to their Czech counterparts.