Will the Hammers remain without defeat in the group stage?
The final decisions in the UEFA Europa League group stage will be made this Thursday. The winners of the eight groups will advance directly to the round of 16, while the runners-up will qualify for the round of 16. If the third-placed teams still have the consolation of continuing in the Conference League, then the international competition is over for the last-placed teams in the group.
We look ahead to the clash between the Hammers from London and Dinamo Zagreb. The hosts have gone through their first games without defeat so far and are confirmed as group winners. The visitors, on the other hand, have to be careful not to be overtaken by KRC Genk on the last matchday. The Croatians are clear underdogs. The bookmakers offer odds of 4.00 for a bet on the dark blue team in the match West Ham vs Dinamo Zagreb.
The Croatians, who are used to success, are currently falling short of their own expectations. As a consequence, coach Krznar was sacked after only nine months and replaced by Zeljko Kopic. He now faces his first big test in London and is expected to prevent the elimination from the Europa League with his team. Kick-off is at 21:00 on Thursday at the Olympic Stadium.
West Ham – Statistics & current form
Under coach David Moyes, the Hammers are increasingly emerging as a top domestic and international side. Last year they finished sixth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League, but this year the Irons are even better.
With 27 points after 15 games, the Londoners are currently in fourth place in the English Premier League and thus in a position that would mean a ticket to the Champions League. Of course, there are still many games to play, but nevertheless the status quo shows how much potential there is in the team.
West Ham end run of three winless games
Last Saturday there was a surprising 3:2 victory over Chelsea FC. This was the eighth win of the season and ended the short series of three league games without a win. The Hammers are also showing what they are capable of on the international stage.
In Group H, the Moyes team had to compete with opponents from Genk, Vienna and Zagreb. After five games, the Irons have a strong 13 points and are already the group winners before the last matchday. Their place in the round of the last 16 teams is no longer in their grasp. The final match will be against Dinamo Zagreb. Here, too, the hosts are favoured and in the match West Ham vs. Dinamo Zagreb all predictions go in the direction of a success for the home side.
The Hammers have only conceded two goals in the EL
While in the league the Jamaican Michail Antonio is the top scorer and has already scored six times, in the Europa League the Algerian Benrahma is West Ham’s top scorer with three goals. The basis of the Hammers’ success is their strong defence. While keeper Fabianski only conceded 19 goals in the Premier League, Areola, who is deployed in the international competition, has an even better record and has only had to make two saves.
Predicted West Ham line-up:
Areola – Diop, Dawson, Coufal – Johnson, Rice, Soucek, Benrahma- Lanzini, Bowen – Antonio
Last matches played by West Ham:
Premier League
12/04 2021 – West Ham 3 – 2 Chelsea London
12/01 2021 – West Ham 1 – 1 Brighton
11/28 2021 – Manchester City 2 – 1 West Ham
Europa League Grp. H
11/25 2021 – Rapid Vienna 0 – 2 West Ham
Premier League
11/20 2021 – Wolverhampton 1 – 0 West Ham
Dinamo Zagreb – Statistics & current form
The Croatians, who are used to success, are the country’s record champions. The title has already gone to the capital 22 times and the dark blue team has also always celebrated the championship in the last four years. But this year, the Modri are running behind their expectations. As a consequence of their poor performance, coach Krznar was fired at the beginning of December and replaced by Zeljko Kopic.
But things are not going any better under his direction. On his debut, Dinamo lost 0:2 against Hajduk Split and had to let their opponents pass. The dark blue team is currently only fourth in the table, five points behind the leaders from Rijeka
Place two in the group to be defended
Fourth place would mean missing out on participation in an international competition. This is not to the taste of those responsible. But before the guests want to make up ground in the league, they first want to make it into the Europa League knockout phase. With seven points, the Dark Blues are currently in second place. But they are only two points ahead of their closest rivals Genk.
If the Belgians manage the expected win against Rapid Vienna, they would pass Dinamo if they fail to win a point on the island. If the points are equal, the Croatians have the better end in their favour, as the visitors have both the better goal difference and the direct comparison with Genk (3-0; 1-1) in their favour.
Zagreb with strong offense
But it will be hard to get the one point as the English are in a good form. Zagreb, on the other hand, picked up just one win from their last six games. This form crisis also affects the odds for Thursday. In the match between West Ham and Dinamo Zagreb, betting on the visitors is rewarded with odds of 4.00 at the top.
It is not only in the league that things are not going well. In the national cup, too, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals last week. HNK Rijeka won at Dinamo with 3:1 goals.
Predicted line-up of Dinamo Zagreb:
Livakovic – Stefulj, Sutalo, Theophile-Catherine, Moharrami – Ivanusec, Ademi, Misic – Orsic, Petkovic, Menalo
Last matches played by Dinamo Zagreb:
1st League
12/05 2021 – Dinamo Zagreb 0 – 2 Hajduk Split
FA Cup
12/01 2021 – Dinamo Zagreb 1 – 3 Rijeka
1st League
11/28 2021 – Sibenik 1 – 2 Dinamo Zagreb
Europa League Grp. H
11/25 2021 – Dinamo Zagreb 1 – 1 KRC Genk
1st League
11/20 2021 – Dinamo Zagreb 1 – 1 Osijek
West Ham – Dinamo Zagreb Direct comparison / H2H record
The only meeting between the Hammers and Dinamo was in the first leg of this year’s UEFA Europa League. The English side won 2-0 through goals from Antonio and Rice, setting the stage then for the excellent league position the Irons now find themselves in.
The bookmakers also see the hosts ahead for the second leg and are predicting a win for the Bordeaux Reds in the West Ham v Dinamo Zagreb match. The visitors, however, need to score to stay in this competition.
West Ham – Dinamo Zagreb prediction
Who will be under more pressure in this clash is clear from the standings. The visitors need to bring something tangible back from the island to spend the winter in the Europa League. However, the bookmakers are pessimistic and offer odds of 3.75 for the match between West Ham and Dinamo Zagreb.
The Bordeaux Reds, on the other hand, are in the comfortable situation of having already secured the group win. The success over Chelsea at the weekend proves how good the Londoners are at the moment. In the group matches they have played, they only lost a point in Genk, when they drew 2-2. This was also the only match in which the English conceded a goal at all.
We see the favourites position like the bookies. The hosts are rightly cast in that role and should go without defeat in the group stage.
The guests are unlikely to walk into an open knife, as even a 0:0 would help them on. The focus will therefore initially be on the defence. Therefore, betting on a game in which a maximum of two goals are scored is a promising alternative in the match between West Ham and Dinamo Zagreb, at odds of 2.02.
