Osijek vs Dinamo Zagreb Prediction: Derby of the round in Croatia

This Sunday, the first big derby of 2025 is scheduled in the Croatian National League, the one that will be played at the Opus Arena by Osijek and Dinamo. The home team led by Federico Coppitelli entered the second part of the championship unconvincingly, with a home draw against Sibenik. This continued its spilling of points from the autumn part of the Croatian National League, in which Osijek significantly lagged behind the leaders in the standings, despite numerous stumbles by those at the top. Dinamo are also not very good this season, or not as we are used to watching them dominating in the league. 

Osijek

Form: DDWWD

Osijek are catching the last train to join Dinamo, and also to escape from Varazdin, which are following them closely. They should be helped by Portuguese Tiago Dantas, the scorer of a beautiful goal against the same opponent at Maksimir in October when Osijek recorded an impressive victory. Amel Jakupovic has also fit in well with the team, and scores regularly, and Coppitelli also has several talented young footballers in the attack. First of all, it is worth highlighting Anton Matkovic, who has distinguished himself with a series of excellent moves this season, while Domagoj Bukvic is not lacking in talent either. Osijek are in fifth place with 27 points, five points behind Dinamo, and the goal is to reduce that gap and enter the race for the European competitions next season. I think that this team has everything that is needed to finish in the top four, but it’s hard for them to keep playing in good form for several matches in a row, which can cost them in the end.

Dinamo Zagreb

Form: WWLDW

Dinamo have started well under Fabio Cannavaro. The Champions League win against Milan may not have been enough for the Zagreb club to advance, but it certainly had a positive impact on the team's confidence. Now the "blues" must prove that they can also play well in the domestic championship, which was not the case in the opening months of the season. Martin Baturina is expected to be the one to make a difference on the pitch with his moves, and Sandro Kulenovic should be responsible for the goals. Before the match with Osijek, Fabio Cannavaro learned some bad news. Ivan Nevistic will not be able to defend at the Opus Arena. He injured his knee in the match against Milan, and he has an unpleasant cut. Who will Cannavaro decide on now? Logically, it will be Danijel Zagorac, but he also missed the Turkish preparations due to an ankle injury. He is healthy now, but the big question is what form he is in. I think that Dinamo are finally back in the best form and I think that even though there is gap between them and the leader Rijeka, Dinamo are still big favorites for winning the league.

Expert Betting Tips

Both due to form and individual quality, bookmakers have declared Dinamo the favorite in this match. I agree that at the moment the "blues" look better than Osijek, and they are also motivated to repay their opponent for the painful defeat in Maksimir. Their confidence has grown after the success against Milan and this should be felt on the field. That is why my betting tips start with a recommendation to bet on a win for Dinamo. It could be another tight Croatian derby in which one or two moves decide the winner. That is why it makes sense to bet on under 2.5 goals in the match.

Our prediction for the match is for the away team to win for the odds of 1.92 at 1xbet

Our second prediction is – total under 2.5 goals for odds of 2.07 at betway.

Our third prediction is team 2 to score more than 1.5 goals for odds of 1.85 at bet365.