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Dinamo Zagreb will entertain Chelsea at the Stadion Maksimir in their UEFA Champions League group stage opener on Tuesday.
The home team kicked off their qualifying campaign in the competition in the second round. In the playoffs, they produced a solid display against Bodo/Glimt to overturn a one-goal deficit in their home leg and secure a 4-2 win on aggregate.
Chelsea secured a direct spot in the group stage thanks to their third-placed finish in the Premier League last season. The Blues won the competition in the 2020-21 campaign but were unable to defend their title, suffering a 5-4 defeat on aggregate to eventual champions Real Madrid.
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Dinamo are back in the competition after a gap of two years and will be looking to leave a good account of themselves here.
Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides. Dinamo Zagreb have met London-based teams 11 times thus far, picking up three wins in that period. This will be Chelsea's first game against Croatian opponents across all competitions.
Dinamo Zagreb form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L
Chelsea form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-L-D
Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea Team News
Dinamo Zagreb
Purgeri have no reported absentees or suspension concerns for their campaign opener.
Injury: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Unavailable: None
Chelsea
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been training individually after suffering a broken jaw during an armed robbery and is unlikely to start here. Another new signing, Denis Zakaria, did not receive his work permit for the Blues' Premier League game against West Ham United and will only travel to Zagreb if that permit comes along. N'Golo Kante has been sidelined for a few weeks with a thigh injury.
Injury: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, N'Golo Kante
Doubtful: Denis Zakaria
Suspension: None
Unavailable: None
Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea Predicted XIs
Dinamo Zagreb (4-2-3-1): Dominik Livaković; Stefan Ristovski, Rasmus Lauritsen, Sadegh Moharrami, Dino Perić; Robert Ljubicic, Arijan Ademi; Luka Ivanušec, Martin Baturina, Mislav Oršić; Josip Drmić
Chelsea (3-1-4-2): Edouard Mendy; Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana; Marc Cucurella; Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount; Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz
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Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea Prediction
The hosts have scored 20 goals in their last five home games across all competitions, including four apiece in their last two home games in the Champions League qualifiers.
Chelsea have a solid record in the competition and recorded a 2-1 win in their previous game against West Ham. The match is expected to be a close affair in which Chelsea should eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Dinamo Zagreb 1-2 Chelsea
