Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea

Stadion Maksimir is the venue as Dinamo Zagreb and Chelsea meet in a curtain-raising 2022/23 Champions League Group E fixture.

Zagreb’s eighth foray into the Champions League group stages sees Ante Cacic looking to become the first manager to take them through to the competition’s knock-outs for the first time in the club’s history. But despite racking up two wins from their three qualifying home outings (D1), the ‘Citizens’ will be out to face an underwhelming historical record against Premier League sides. The reigning Croatian champions have only won four of their last 19 European fixtures against English clubs (D3, L12). On top of that, among teams to have featured in 30+ matches in Champions League proper, only AEK Athens (7%) and FCSB (10%) lament a poorer win rate than Zagreb (12%), with the Croatians picking up just five victories in 42 such contests (D7, L30).

In the meantime, Chelsea came from behind to beat West Ham United 2-1 at home in the build-up to this trip, maintaining their indifferent start to the new Premier League season (W2, D1, L2). After overseeing massive personnel changes in the summer, manager Thomas Tuchel may welcome his side’s first-ever European clash against Croatian adversaries with his arms open. Indeed, the ‘Pensioners’ have only lost one of their last 17 matches in the Champions League group phase (W11, D5), courtesy of a 1-0 defeat at Juventus in September 2021. Interestingly, that failure remains Chelsea’s solitary disappointment on the road across 11 Champions League fixtures outside Stamford Bridge (W8, D2). That should be enough to bolster their spirits as they aim to end a run of consecutive away defeats in all competitions.