UEFA Champions League
In the first match of the Champions League play-off round, Dinamo Zagreb host Viking at Stadion Maksimir on 18 August 2026 at 22:00 (UTC). The match will be refereed by Serdar Gozubuyuk, and with light rain expected, both teams are looking to gain an advantage in the first leg of the tie.
Form and Statistics
Viking have won 13 of their last 16 matches, demonstrating recent consistency from the Norwegian side; in their last 92 matches, they have failed to lose on 79 occasions. The team has won 2 of their last 5 away matches, and in their last game on 14 August they departed with a 2-1 victory. Dinamo Zagreb have won 4 of their last 5 Champions League matches, have not lost in 23 of their last 28 European home matches, and have won 3 of their last 5 home fixtures. Both teams appear to struggle with finding early goals; Viking have not scored an early goal in their last 10 matches, while Dinamo Zagreb have been in the same situation in 8 of their last 10 European matches.
Injuries and Squad
Viking will take the field with significant injury concerns. Anders Bærtelsen, Henrik Falchener (hamstring), Gianni Stensness, Joe Bell, Veton Berisha, Nick D'Agostino (leg) and Martin Ove Roseth are among those unavailable. The absence of Berisha is particularly notable; the player has the team's highest average xG (0.43) and xGOT (0.86) over their last 10 matches. On Dinamo Zagreb's side, Ivan Filipovic will miss the match due to a red card suspension.
Head-to-Head History
There is no available data on previous encounters between the two teams; therefore, a concrete comparison of the rivalry's history cannot be made.
Data-Driven Prediction
On the Dinamo Zagreb side, Miha Zajc stands out both in terms of goal contribution (average xG 0.5, xGOT 0.68) and performance (average rating 7.71). For Viking, Zlatko Tripic's average rating of 7.77 is noteworthy. The fact that the under 3.5 goals mark has not been exceeded in 17 of Viking's last 21 matches, combined with both teams typically seeing goals in their recent fixtures, suggests a cautious yet goal-heavy encounter. Regarding cards, both teams display disciplined performances; neither has exceeded the 3.5 card mark in the majority of their recent matches.
