D. Zagreb vs FC Ballkani prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-12-13 20:00.
In a fiercely-contested race for second place in Group C of the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL), it’s Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb that sit in pole position heading into this final matchday. Sergej Jakirović’s side can secure their place in the knockout play-off round by avoiding defeat against Ballkani on matchday six, while they’ll also be out for revenge after losing the reverse fixture 2-0 in October.
Dinamo come into this clash in top form, winning four consecutive matches across all competitions, the last three of which were accompanied by a clean sheet. The Blues are also proving to be imperious on home soil of late, winning eight of their last nine competitive matches at the Stadion Maksimir (L1), while they’ve lost just three of their last 14 here in European competition (W8, D3).
That places Kosovan outfit Ballkani as big outsiders for this clash despite their H2H win on matchday two. The Gabriels sit bottom of the group and two points behind Dinamo, but can still secure their place in the knockout stages of a UEFA competition for the first-time ever should they win in Zagreb and Astana fail to beat Viktoria Plzeň in the group’s other fixture.
A 5-3 defeat at the weekend, their first in the league all season, hardly serves as the ideal warm-up for Ballkani, who could now suffer back-to-back losses for the first time since March. That was their only away defeat in seven on the road in all competitions (W4, D2), but with both of their draws in that run coming in the UECL, the Gabriels will be looking to end a scoreless three-match winless run in European away matches in this outing.
Players to watch: Dinamo’s Takuro Kaneko could be the key to unlocking their opposition here, as he’s directly contributed to four goals across his last three matches (G1, A3). Ballkani’s Almir Kryeziu scored one of his eight goals this term in the reverse fixture – half of those strikes have arrived between the 40th and 50th minute.
Hot stat: Ballkani’s five UECL group matches have produced a total of seven goals, the joint-lowest number in the tournament.