Dinamo have picked up an impressive seven points through the first half (4 matches) of their Champions League campaign. That was the “easiest” part. Now the Croatian champs must face Dortmund, Celtic, Arsenal and AC Milan to finish out their campaign. Three of those matches will be played at Maksimir. The goal is to finish top-24 on the “League Phase” table which would see them play a 2-leg playoff after the New Year.
I’m realistically thinking Dinamo would need to grab four points from as many matches to make that happen…and it will have to happen without Petar Sučić, who has been ruled out for the next 6-8 weeks with a broken bone in his foot. Looking at the table, Dinamo will have to beat Celtic and grab a draw versus Dortmund or AC Milan. I don’t see Dinamo doing anything against Arsenal in North London as the Gunners will be gunning for maximum points and a top-8 finish, which would get them a bye.
Maybe AC Milan will have already locked up a top-24 berth by the time Dinamo have to play them on the last match day. There’s still way too many scenarios that can happen but I think Dinamo would be safe with four more points. A win over Celtic would be EVERYTHING but they may still need one more point out of three games with Dortmund, Arsenal and AC Milan. Not an easy task.
Dinamo host Borussia Dortmund Wednesday night from Maksimir. 3PM (ET) kickoff.
It would have been difficult to get any points from this game even with a full strength squad. Now with all the injuries to key players all they can hope for is that it is not a blow out. If they can loose by no more than 2 goals it would be seen as a moral victory.
I’m not optimistic about this match, with so many injuries for Dinamo. They also have not been playing well in HNL and were lucky to escape with a 0 – 0 draw against Rijeka on home turf.
With all these midfielders injured I guess it will be up to Rog, Stojkovic and Kacavenda to take their places and show what they can do.
Ajmo Plavi! I think your assessment is spot on. Ten points should guarantee a spot in the playoff round. I would be happy with one point tomorrow. We’re missing Sučić, and also Misić and Ademi. Who do they even have left in the midfield?