Skenderbeu v Dinamo Zagreb Betting Tips: Hosts can continue good continental home form

This time last week, Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb were hotly fancied by the bookies to overcome Albanian opposition in the form of Skenderbeu with minimal fuss; however, despite going into the game as short as 1/6 in the betting, the hosts were unable to get the better of a visiting team who proved to be more than useful. Mario Cvitanović’s men were a goal down inside the opening half and it took a 95th minute strike for them to walk off the pitch level. Hardly what you’d expect from a side who were long odds-on favourites.

In front of their own fans, Dinamo did dictate proceedings in a manner of speaking; they had more of the ball and managed more attempts at goal. Having said that, they failed to create much and were kept reasonably quiet as far as clear-cut chances go. What’s more, as they conceded an away-goal, it is the Croatian side who come here chasing. As things stand, Skenderbeu are the team going through. Such a fact should allow the hosts to make sure things are kept nice and tight before they look to kill the game off on the break.

Given that they well and truly deserved, at the very least, a share of the spoils last week, it’s surprising that Skenderbeu have once again been overlooked by the bookmakers. They’ve not been quite as heavily dismissed but a price of 4/1 still underestimates them. With the betting the way it is, ‘Skenderbeu Draw No Bet’, at odds of 11/4, is a bet that is simply too good to miss.

Thursday’s hosts may have had victory snatched away from them at the death last week, but, with the away-goal ruling, a 1-1 draw is almost as good as a win. The first-leg result still means that it is they who have the upper-hand and, having nullified Zagreb for so long last week, they ought to feel upbeat about their chances of getting a good result in this match. With the aggregate score at 1-1, Ilir Daja’s men don’t need to force anything, they can remain disciplined and wait for the visitors to press before getting in behind. Such a tactic very nearly yielded victory last week and could easily result in a home win in Albania this time around.

If we add into the mix the fact that Skenderbeu boast a strong record on home soil, a price of 4/1 starts to look huge. Daja’s side have won all three of their home matches in qualifying so far, scoring four and conceding just one in the process. On top of this, they’ve won 11 of their last 15 matches on home soil, losing just once during that time. Consider this in conjunction with the fact that Zagreb are notoriously poor on the road in Europe and it becomes yet harder to go against the hosts. The visiting side have won just two of their last ten Europa League away matches and are without a win in four. They may well have avoided defeat against Norwegian side Odd away from home in the previous round, but the fact that they failed to score in doing so doesn’t bode well. Against a Skenderbeu side who’re no strangers to keeping things tight on their own patch, Zagreb are fancied to falter once more.

All in all, whichever way you view this fixture, it’s impossible to get away from the fact that the Albanian club are simply too big in the betting and they’re thus well worth getting behind, especially when a price such as 11/4 is available accompanied by the insurance policy of money back in the event of a draw.

Click here to read more Europa League tips.