Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Dinamo Zagreb
Match Time & Date:
28/08/2018
03:00 PM
Prediction: 2-1
Young Boys
Seeing that Dinamo Zagreb and Young Boys played out a 1-1 draw in Bern in the first leg of the Champions League play-off, a close encounter is on the cards at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb. The Croatian champions aim to defend their “slim lead” in Wednesday’s football match, but the visitors should not be written off just yet. Young Boys failed to turn their dominance into goals in the first leg and it has to be noted that they had over 20 goal attempts in the 1-1 draw with Dinamo. Anyhow, the Swiss outfit need to adopt an attack-minded approach in the second leg if they are to make it to the group stages of the Champions League, meaning that the hosts should have opportunities to score on the break. It is well known that Dinamo Zagreb are a real force to be reckoned with at home and, taking everything into account, home win should be considered.
Highlighted Player (Miralem Sulejmani):
Miralem Sulejmani is a product of Partizan football academy. The pacey winger played no more than one game in the Serbian Super League for Partizan before joining Heerenveen. The left-footed footballer impressed in the 2007/2008 season with de Superfriezen, with the Serbia international scoring 14 goals in 34 appearances in the Eredivisie.
Miralem Sulejmani was on Ajax’s radar during the season and he signed for the famous Dutch club in the summer of 2008 for a fee of €16.25 million. After scoring 29 goals in 103 appearances in the national championship for the Amsterdammers Sulejmani moved to Benfica in 2013, signing a five-year contract with the Primeira Liga side. However, Miralem Sulejmani was struggling to find his best form during his spell with the Portuguese outfit and the club chiefs decided to sell him to Young Boys in June, 2015.
Speaking of his international career, Miralem Sujelmani made his Serbia debut on February 6, 2008 in a friendly game against Macedonia in Skopje. He scored his first ever goal for the Eagles on September 12, 2012 in a 6-1 win over Wales (2014 WC qualifiers).
Highlighted Team (Young Boys):
Just five years after its foundation Young Boys won their first Swiss Super League trophy (1903). The capital club won no less than 11 domestic trophies in the 20th century, but they have been in Basel’s shadow in the last two decades. Young Boys won their last Swiss Super League title back in 1986, while lifting their last Swiss Cup trophy in 1987.
The Yellow and Blacks welcome their rivals at Stade de Suisse, which acts as a national stadium and it has to be noted that they play their home games on artificial turf. Swiss football legend Stephane Chapuisat played for the club in the past and you should bear in mind that former Yugoslavia coach Vujadin Boskov played for the Stade de Suisse outfit in the past as well.
Young Boys played their first official game on 29 June, 1898 and they shared the spoils with Institute Grunau back then. The Swiss team participated in the 2016/2017 Champions League qualifiers, but they failed to make it to the group stages of the elite competition.
