At the start of this season’s Champions League campaign, Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb both suffered a series of painful defeats. Unlike the Croatian side, Salzburg are yet to register a point in the European competition, but bookmakers have favoured the Austrian team for the upcoming encounter.
Since the beginning of September, Salzburg have only fallen short of a total over 2.5 in just two out of eight matches across all competitions. Against Sparta Prague (0:3) and Stade Brestois (0:4), they were relentless in attack (1.49 xG), but their opponents were more clinical. In Saturday’s clash against Rheindorf Altach (2:1), the team took the initiative, with the promising Karim Konaté delivering a crucial 1+1, marking him as the next potential high-profile departure from Salzburg.
A heavy thrashing by Bayern Munich (2:9) set changes in motion within Dinamo Zagreb's system. Under Nenad Bjelica, the Croatians secured three wins in five matches, with the total over 2.5 goals occurring in four of these. They seemingly redeemed themselves with a draw against the dangerous AS Monaco (2:2), but now expectations remain high for Dinamo Zagreb to clinch victory against a struggling rival.
Both attacking philosophies will encourage each other forward. Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb are set to score at least three goals between them in this head-to-head. The accumulation of defensive errors could lead to a goal-laden outcome, possibly by halftime.
