Champions League
2011-09-14 - Dinamo Zagreb vs Real Madrid
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : Champions League Match Day 1
Wednesday 14 September 2011 - Kickoff 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb finally made it back to the Group Stages of the Champions League after falling in the Qualifying stage in each of the last 5 seasons. It has been a long time since Dinamo were in this stage of the competition, so long in fact that manager Krunoslav Jurcic was actually in the team that played in the 1999/2000 season.
The team have already broken clear in the Croatian domestic League after compiling a 6-1-0 record to start the new season. They hold a 5 point lead over nearest challengers Hajduk Split and they have won all 4 home games so far in the League, scoring 10 goals and keeping clean sheets in all of those games.
It is their record at home that has allowed Dinamo Zagreb to negotiate 3 Rounds in the Qualifying section this time around. They beat Neftci 3-0 on aggregate, beat HJK Helsinki 3-1 on aggregate and then beating Malmo 4-3 in the last Round having survived a scare when losing the 2nd leg in Sweden. Dinamo have won all 3 home games in the qualifiers, but will be well aware of the strength of their opponents this time.
Dinamo were beaten by Sheriff last year in the 3rd Round of the Qualifiers on a penalty shoot out and entered the Europa League. They failed to get out of the Group Stage in that competition and finished with a 2-1-1 record at home, although did record a big win over Villarreal here.
Real Madrid
The acid test for Jose Mourinho this season is whether he can break the dominance of Barcelona both at home and in Europe. The controversy surrounding the El Classico battles means I feel Mourinho is on borrowed time at the Bernebeau and needs to win trophies to at least have the President of the club believe all the bad press is worth it.
The team have an early lead over Barcelona in the fledgling La Liga as they have won both of their games while the Catalans dropped points at Real Sociedad at the weekend. Real Madrid have only played one game away from home, beating Real Zaragoza 0-6. An early defeat in the Super Cup to Barcelona would not have helped matters, especially considering the brawl that took place in the 1st Leg, but all of that will be forgotten if they win La Liga and/or the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho at least guided his team further than the last 16 in this competition last season, the first time they had managed to do that since the 2003/04 season. However, they were beaten by Barcelona in what was a controversial two legged tie. Real Madrid finished last season with a 3-3-0 record away from home, including matches at Barcelona and AC Milan. They have lost just 1 of their last 10 away games in the competition.
It looks like Kaka will be missing for the Spanish side in this game while Jose Mourinho serves a touchline ban. New signings Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop are both out with injuries, but Sami Khedira and Lassana Diarra have travelled with the squad.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive meeting between the sides.
Prediction
This is a really tough spot for Dinamo Zagreb to be in as they face a free scoring side that has a lot of attacking quality.
The problem is that playing at home means they will be expected to go forward in search of goals and that is where Real are at their most dangerous as they will get the space to counter attack through the pace of Ozil and Ronaldo.
Dinamo will have the passionate home crowd behind them, but I think they will struggle to contain Real Madrid and the away side should be able to come with a victory by a couple of goals at least.
The handicap is a little high, but just tempting enough for me to get involved on Real Madrid.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Dinamo Zagreb 0-3 Real Madrid
