UEFA Champions League
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Played
October 3, 2012 7:45 PM BST
NSK Olimpijs'kyj — Kyiv (Kiev)
Referee:‬ M. Atkinson‎
Attendance:‬ 47804‎
 
3′ Oleh Husyev
 
33′ (OG) Josip Pivarić
 

Dynamo Kiev - Dinamo Zagreb Preview: Both teams looking to improve upon Matchday 1 defeats

The Ukrainians got off to a disappointing start but will be intent on picking up points here where they will fancy their chances against the Croatian champions

By William Shand

More On :  Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kiev, Dynamo Kiev vs Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Kiev
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  PROBABLE LINEUPS
DINAMO KIEV

Koval
 Danilo, Mikhalik, Khacheridi, Taiwo
 Veloso, Raffael
Yarmolenko, Kranjcar, Gusev
Ideye

DINAMO ZAGREB

Kelava
Vida, Tonel, Simunic, Pivaric
Ademi
Rukavina, Sammir, Kovacic, Cop
Begiraj

Following their heavy Matchday 1 defeat at the hands of PSG, DInamo Kiev will look to kick-start their Champions League campaign with a win on home soil against the reigning champions of Croatia.



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Carlo Garganese, James Goldman and Peter Staunton run the rule over the teams vying for the famous trophy
Head Coach Oleh Blokhin will be aiming to carry over his side’s good league form (where they have won 8 out of 10 games) and, in Brown Ideye, he has at his disposal one of the most in-form strikers in Europe. Supplementing the attack will be the trio of Oleh Gusev, Andriy Yarmolenko and Niko Kranjcar, who has scored four goals in eight league games from midfield and will no doubt relish facing off against one of his former clubs.

Dinamo Zagreb, similarly, are performing well in their respective league, with seven wins out of 10 and only one defeat. After losing 2-0 to Porto on Matchday 1, there are already murmurs that failure to gain any sort of result in Kiev could spell an end to any continued involvement in Europe after the New Year.

With no injury concerns, Head Coach Ante Cacic will be able to field a full strength side and, in the build up to the match, has been encouraging his team to “think positively” and aim for three points. He will look, in chief, to Brazilian-born attacking midfielder Sammir, and Duje Cop, who will be deployed on the left flank, to provide the Croats with what would be considered an unlikely – but not altogether implausible – victory.



  DID YOU KNOW?

  • This is only Oleh Blokin’s second match in charge of Dinamo Kiev. His first was their 1-0 over Zorya Luhansk on Friday.

  • Dinamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb previously met in the 2003/04 Champions League qualification rounds, with Kiev triumphing 5-1 on aggregate.

  • Dinamo Kiev are participating in their 14th Champions League campaign.

  • Dinamo Zagreb have won seven consecutive Croatian league titles in a row.

  • Despite their impressive domestic pedigree, they lost all six of their Champions League matches last season, conceding 22 goals along the way – a Champions League record.

  • Dinamo’s 2-0 loss to Porto on Matchday 1 was their first defeat in 34 matches since Head Coach Ante Cacic took charge.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Dynamo Kiev 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
    19.19 %
  • Dynamo Kiev 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb
    17.68 %
  • Dynamo Kiev 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb
    10.1 %
Head to Head
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ Dec 4, 2012 Dinamo Zagreb 1 - Dynamo Kiev 1
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  • Match Report
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UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ Oct 3, 2012 Dynamo Kiev 2 - Dinamo Zagreb 0
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Last Five Matches
Dynamo Kiev
Feb 21, 2013Bordeaux 1 - Dynamo Kiev 0EL
Feb 14, 2013Dynamo Kiev 1 - Bordeaux 1EL
Dec 4, 2012Dinamo Zagreb 1 - Dynamo Kiev 1UCL
Nov 21, 2012Dynamo Kiev 0 - Paris Saint-Germain 2UCL
Nov 6, 2012Dynamo Kiev 0 - Porto 0UCL
Dinamo Zagreb
Dec 4, 2012Dinamo Zagreb 1 - Dynamo Kiev 1UCL
Nov 21, 2012Porto 3 - Dinamo Zagreb 0UCL
Nov 6, 2012Paris Saint-Germain 4 - Dinamo Zagreb 0UCL
Oct 24, 2012Dinamo Zagreb 0 - Paris Saint-Germain 2UCL
Oct 3, 2012Dynamo Kiev 2 - Dinamo Zagreb 0UCL
Odds
Returns: Dynamo Kiev £14.44 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: Draw £710.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Dinamo Zagreb £1510.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Team News
Available Squads
1Oleksander ShovkovskiGoalkeeper
2Danilo SilvaMidfielder
17Taras MykhalykMidfielder
3Taye TaiwoDefender
34Yevhen KhacheridiDefender
4Miguel VelosoMidfielder
5Ognjen VukojevicMidfielder
20Oleh HusyevMidfielder
21Niko KranjcarMidfielder
9Andriy YarmolenkoStriker
11B. IdeyeStriker
35Maksym KovalGoalkeeper
3BetãoDefender
19Denys GarmashMidfielder
10RaffaelStriker
-Artem MilevskyStriker
13Admir MehmediStriker
15Marco RubenStriker
30Ivan KelevaGoalkeeper
4Josip SimunicDefender
13TonelDefender
19Josip PivarićDefender
24Domagoj VidaDefender
-Adrián CalelloMidfielder
6Arijan AdemiMidfielder
8Mateo KovačićMidfielder
10SammirMidfielder
77Marcelo BrozovićMidfielder
21Fatos BecirajStriker
33Romeo MitrovićGoalkeeper
2Ante PuljicDefender
3Luis IbáñezDefender
7Bryan CarrascoDefender
14Sime VrsaljkoMidfielder
55Ante RukavinaStriker
90Duje CopStriker
Players to Watch
B. Ideye
B. Ideye
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 11
Games Goals YC RC
10 4 0 0
The 23-year-old Nigerian striker has led Dynamo Kiev's scoring charts with a hugely impressive 8 goals in 10 games. Having played in the competition last year in addition to earning 3 caps for his country, he is accustomed to playing at the highest level. Strong and with pace to burn, he will aim to capitalise on any opportunities carved out by the creative trio behind him.
Sammir
Sammir
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 10
Games Goals YC RC
9 0 0 0
With an incredible record of 10 goals from 10 league games (all the more impressive coming from an attacking midfield role), Sammir has been an absolute revelation for Zagreb this season. He has already matched his best scoring season by the beginning of October and, to cap off a wonderful start to the season he was recently included in the Croatia squad for the games against Macedonia and Wales.
Prediction
Both teams need something from the game to have any realistic aspirations of advancing out of the group and will attack accordingly. Expect a close match but, ultimately, the superior quality and the intimidating support of the home side will help ensure the inaugural 3 points of Dynamo Kiev's campaign.
Editor's Prediction
Dynamo Kiev 2
Dinamo Zagreb 1
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