Dinamo Zagreb vs Hajduk Split Prediction: New season in HNL starts with the biggest derby in Croatian football

At the opening of the first round of Supersport HNL, Dinamo will welcome Hajduk. The match is scheduled for Friday at 21:00 at the Maksimir Stadium. Just a week ago, these two teams played against each other in the Supercup final, in which the team from Zagreb won 1:0. Dinamo Zagreb are still dominant in Croatian football and do not plan to stop in the next season either. The match against Hajduk is an excellent announcement of the season and the Blues could announce from the very start that they are still undisputed in domestic football.

Form: WDWDW

Before the match in the Super Cup, Dinamo played four friendly matches. The last match in that series was against Sparta Prague, ending with a score of 1:1. The Czech team took the lead in the second minute of the match, but Dinamo managed to equalize from a penalty kick that Bruno Petkovic successfully converted just 12 minutes later. The result did not change until the end of the game. Dinamo finished the league part of the competition in first place with 81 points, even ten more than their next rival, Hajduk. In the cup, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Sibenik with a score of 2:1. During the last four friendly matches, they achieved two wins and two draws.  Unfortunately, due to an ankle injury, Gabrijel Rukavina will not be able to play. It is assumed that the same starting 11 from the last match against Hajduk will start in this match as well.

Form: LWDWL

Hajduk played one more friendly match than Dinamo (5 in total), and on July 8 they faced Trabzonspor, beating them 0:2. Hajduk scored both goals in the first half of the match, with Ivan Dolcek scoring the first goal, while Dario Melnjak scored the second goal. Last season, they took second place in the league with 71 points, which was eleven more than third-placed Osijek. In the final of the cup, they convincingly defeated Sibenik in Poljud with a score of 3:0 and deservedly won the title. In friendly matches, they have a record of two wins and two draws, with one loss against Olimpija from Ljubljana. Due to the completely healthy group of players at his disposal, the manager of Hajduk from Split, Ivan Leko, has no worries at all about physical preparation before this match. As for the starting line-up, the most reliable starters are Jan Mlakar in the attack, Yassine Benrahou will probably behind him, Ivan Lucic will be goalkeeper, and Zvonimir Sarlija and Ferro will probably in the central defense.

Considering the favorable score between them and the home field advantage, it would be a big surprise if Dinamo didn't win. Therefore, we predict a victory for the home team and expect the game to be more open, with a total of more than 1.5 goals scored.