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Steffen Schmidt - July 20, 2023
Dinamo Zagreb vs Hajduk Split
Croatian HNL
Date: 21 July 2023, Friday
Kick-off at 19:00 UK / 20:00 CET
Venue: Stadion Maksimir (Zagreb).
The opening round of the new season in the top flight of Croatian football brings us the biggest game this country has to offer as bitter rivals Dinamo and Hajduk come across each other at Stadion Maksimir.
The two outfits have already battled it out six days ago in the country’s Super Cup game as Dinamo Zagreb celebrated a 1-0 victory.
It was a close match that could have easily ended without a winner. We did not see too many chances on either end, especially in front of Dominik Livakovic’s goal as Dinamo limited their eternal enemies to just a single shot on target in the 90 minutes if play on the occasion.
Dinamo have been much more successful in the last decade as it has been almost two decades since Hajduk’s previous HNL silverware.
Nevertheless, things might change drastically starting with this year as Hajduk Split will enter the season in much higher spirits than their counterparts, despite the mentioned loss from the last weekend in the Super Cup.
Hajduk have made some exciting signings, namely the like of Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe who has the potential of becoming the best player in this league based on the experience he carries from his rich career.
Also, national team’s striker Marko Livaja is still there and he is ready to feature on Friday might after skipping the Super Cup game last Saturday.
Dinamo Zagreb are 1.65 favorites on Friday but we see much better value with Hajduk Split who are very much capable of causing an upset in these circumstances. The away win is well worth backing at the 4.50 odds while the more conservative tipsters can simply go for the double chance and back the visitors not to lose at the 2.20 odds.
Also, we expect another tight affair without too many chances on either end. The Under 2.5 goals FT pick looks like a great option at the 1.85 odds.
