Dinamo Zagreb and Legia Warsaw will meet in the 1st leg of their 3rd qualifying round tie in the Champions League on Wednesday night at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb with both teams keen to further their ambitions of making it through to the lucrative group stage of this season’s competition.
Dinamo Zagreb bring a decent run of form into this opening home leg as the hosts have suffered just one defeat out of their last 21 matches overall in all competitions and includes winning two previous qualifying rounds in the Champions League as well.
FT | 90'+5 Dinamo - Rijeka 3:3 (Perić, Majer, Oršić) ⚽️💙 #dinamozagreb📷 Pixsell pic.twitter.com/FnEkZ9hSja— GNK Dinamo (@gnkdinamo) August 1, 2021
FT | 90'+5 Dinamo - Rijeka 3:3 (Perić, Majer, Oršić) ⚽️💙 #dinamozagreb📷 Pixsell pic.twitter.com/FnEkZ9hSja
The 1st qualifying round saw Dinamo Zagreb register a convincing 5-2 win on aggregate against Icelandic outfit, Valur, and this was followed by a solid 3-0 aggregate win over Cypriot side, Omonia Nicosia, in the 2nd qualifying round.
However, Dinamo Zagreb will now be facing the title-winners of last season’s Polish Ekstraklasa, Legia Warsaw, in this upcoming two-legged tie and the Croatian hosts will need to be on their mettle if they’re to gain a valuable 1st leg lead on home soil.
The hosts have lost just one of their last eight ties at home in the Champions League.
Legia Warsaw have been in reasonable form too, as the Polish visitors have lost just two of their last 10 matches overall in all competitions which came in the form of a loss on penalties in the Polish Super Cup to Rakow Czestochowa and a domestic Ekstraklasa loss to Radomiak Radom.
Nevertheless, Legia Warsaw have also picked up seven wins during this sequence 10-match sequence as well, and includes winning their 1st and 2nd qualifying round ties with victories over Norwegian side, Bodo/Glimt 5-2 on aggregate and then Estonian outfit, Flora Tallinn, by a 3-1 aggregate margin.
Of course, on the domestic front, Legia Warsaw also secured the Polish Ekstraklasa league title at the end of last season by a five-point margin over runners-up, Rakow Czestochowa, so confidence is expected to be high amongst the Legia Warsaw camp ahead of this tie with Dinamo Zagreb.
Legia Warsaw have won their last four ties on the trot away from home in the Champions League.
Both Dinamo Zagreb and Legia Warsaw have won their last four Champions League ties on the trot and this could see the honours shared in this 1st leg tie in Zagreb.