The 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stages are edging ever closer and on Wednesday night we have a selection of first leg playoff matches to enjoy. One of the standout fixtures is between Young Boys and Dinamo Zagreb, who meet at the Stade De Suisse Wankdorf in Bern.
Young Boys best performance in the Champions League came back in 1958/59 in the old European Cup format. They reached the semi-final and while it is highly unlikely they can match that in this campaign, just to reach the group stages would be fantastic.
Dinamo Zagreb last reached the group stages of the Champions League in 2016/17. They were eliminated having finished fourth in a tough group but came through a playoff tie to reach that stage of the competition.
Trends show Young Boys have made a tremendous start to the season. They have played five competitive games, four in the Swiss Super League and one in the Swiss Cup and won all of them. Having played four games in the league, Young Boys are already 5 points clear of second place Basel and have made a great start to the defence of their title.
Young Boys are very strong at home and have remained undefeated in their last nineteen matches in all competitions. They have won seventeen of those games but their most recent defeat came in European competition when they lost 1-0 at home to Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League last season.
The Swiss champions have played nine home games in the Champions League qualifying rounds, winning three of them and are yet to progress to the group stages.
Unlike Young Boys, who have entered the Champions League at the playoff stage, Dinamo Zagreb have already been heavily involved in the tournament this season.
The current Croatian champions were drawn against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the second qualifying round and secured an excellent 5-0 home win before seeing out the tie with a 2-2 draw away. The third qualifying round paired Dinamo Zagreb with Astana and they produced a good 2-0 away win in the first leg, eventually winning the tie 3-0 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb have also played four domestic league games, winning three and drawing one meaning they are undefeated in all competitions this season. They have scored 2 goals in each of their two away Champions League games.
Team news and Young Boys have a lengthy injury list with Jordan Lotomba, Roger Assale, Pedro Teixeira and Sandro Lauper all on the treatment table. Top scorer Guillaume Hoarau should start up-front.
Dinamo Zagreb are without defensive midfielder Nikola Moro, who has suffered a cruciate ligament injury. They are expected to start in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Mario Budimir leading the line.
Young Boys have scored 2 or more goals in each of their five matches this season while Dinamo Zagreb have scored at least once in each of their last sixteen Champions League qualifying games. Young Boys have been defeated at this stage of the competition in the last two seasons and this one could end level with both teams scoring.