Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Dinamo Zagreb Prediction: Not so fierce city derby

Lokomotiva will host Dinamo in the 17th round of the Croatian SuperSport HNL, on Saturday at 5:00 PM, at the stadium in Kranjceviceva Street. In the previous round, the home team lost to Osijek 3:0, while the guests drew with Slaven Belupo, with a score of 1:1. The Locos enter this match from the last position with a miserable scoring performance. In theory, against the last team in the league, it shouldn't be a problem even for such a bad Dinamo. In practice, given the current form, anything is possible - because if something can raise the motivation of every team in the HNL in such difficult times, it is a match against Dinamo.

Form: LLWDW

Lokomotiva will be looking to bounce back from a heavy 3-0 defeat in their last match against Osijek. In that match, Lokomotiva had 54% possession and had 12 shots on goal, 6 of which were on target. Still, their opponents took advantage of their opportunities and scored through Emin Hasic, Marko Solda, and Ivan Cvijanovic. Lokomotiva's defense has been vulnerable of late, conceding goals in five of their last six matches, nine in total. They currently sit bottom of the table with 13 points, two behind Sibenik, who are in a place outside the relegation zone. Lokomotiva have also failed to beat Dinamo in their last three league matches and have not tasted victory at home in three games.

Form: DDLLD

Dinamo Zagreb are coming off a 0-0 draw against Celtic in the Champions League, where they had just 31% possession and 11 shots on goal, but only two inside the box. Although the defense has been solid, Dinamo's offense has not been productive in the last six games, scoring just three goals and conceding seven. Dinamo are winless in their last six competitive games, recording four draws and two losses. They currently occupy third place in the league table, with 26 points won, six less than Rijeka and Hajduk, who are sharing first place. Coach Nenad Bjelica is facing problems due to injuries to key players such as Bruno Petkovic, Arijan Ademi, Josip Misic, Takuya Ogiwara, and Petar Sucic, who will not be available for this match.

This is an opportunity for Dinamo to get out of a bad series without a win, as they are meeting with the last-placed team in the league. Even though Lokomotiva are playing at home, I expect that the guests will take advantage of the weak defense of the home team and manage to triumph in this match. Also, I believe that Dinamo will want to win confidently, scoring several goals and improving the moral and confidence among the players.