Istra 1961 vs Dinamo Zagreb Prediction: Dinamo Zagreb are in very unpleasant situation

Before the football players of Istra 1961 is the beginning of the second part of the SuperSport HNL season, and one of the most difficult opponents is coming to them right away. Dinamo comes to Pula after losing to Lokomotiva. It could be said that Istria 1961 are not very lucky this season in terms of expectations and timing for matches with Dinamo. Namely, before the matches with Istra the Blues recorded defeats against Hajduk. The first was in Zagreb, and the second was in Split. In both cases, a duel with Istria followed, and Dinamo healed the wounds with convincing victories, winning twice by 3:0.

Form: LWWWW

Penultimate Istria did nothing spectacular during the winter break. They played a series of friendly matches to be as ready as possible and brought in a new player, Ville Koski. Apart from that, nothing happened in the team, which is not even a shadow of what they were last season. Namely, Istra are currently in the penultimate position and it’s only thanks to the weak Rudes they avoided falling to the bottom of the table. Before the winter break, they did not establish any rhythm and form, and it will certainly be very difficult for them against Dinamo, who are on fire after the shocking defeat against Lokomotiva. They will be without their best player Ante Erceg and Darwin Matheus which is huge blow for them.

Form: LWWWW

On Saturday, Dinamo will play in Pula without Josip Misic who is suspended, and the manager Sergej Jakirovic announced some changes in the lineup after the disaster against Lokomotiva. After the winter break and all the new players, they brought in, the current champion Dinamo were expected to win routinely against Lokomotiva. However, we were all left in shock because Lokos took all three points at Maksimir with Duje Cop hat trick and a big 3:0 victory. After that game, there was a discussion in Dinamo about the retention of coach Sergej Jakirovic, who nevertheless “survived” and remained on the bench. It is pointless to say that they must win this match, not only for peace in the dressing room but also for Jakirovic to keep his job.

Strengthened Dinamo will certainly be hungry for victory after the debacle they experienced a few days ago. At the moment, Istra are the ideal opponent for the return of self-confidence, so I think that Dinamo will record an easy and confident victory in Pula. The hosts besides bad form in the league, will miss several important players and I can’t see them taking points in this match against Dinamo in such situation.