Slaven Belupo vs Dinamo Zagreb Prediction: What can Slaven Belupo do against Dinamo?

An exciting SuperSport HNL match between NK Slaven Belupo and GNK Dinamo Zagreb is scheduled for May 18, 2024, at the City Stadium Ivan Kusek Apas in Koprivnica. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:10 h, and both clubs will enter the match with different lineups than in previous games, which could create an interesting dynamic on the field. Given that Dinamo secured a new championship title in the last round, this match comes for them between two more important matches of the Cup final. 

Form: LWLLW

With 33 points from 34 games this season, Slaven Belupo have struggled and are currently ninth in the league standings. Their current form shows how uneven they have been in their performance. They lost to Hajduk Split, Istra 1961, and Lokomotiva Zagreb three times, but managed to win twice against Rudes and Gorica in the last 5 games. Their last match, a 2-1 loss against Lokomotiva Zagreb, showed their continued inability to sustain momentum. Their last win over Dinamo at this stadium was in 2017, and maybe this is perfect timing for them to surprise the champion as Dinamo are preparing for the second match of the Croatian Cup final.

Form: DWWLW

On the other hand, Dinamo Zagreb are dominating all over the league and are at the top of the table with an excellent 78 points from 34 games. They have won in the past five games in a row against Varazdin, Lokomotiva Zagreb, Rijeka, and Osijek, showing excellent form. Their last triumph, 1-0 over Osijek, was enough for Dinamo to win the title 2 rounds before the end of the season. Last week they played the first match of the cup final, and the result was 0:0 in Zagreb. The second match will be played in Rijeka and the focus of this team is certainly already on that match. 

Dinamo Zagreb had a great result when they played against Slaven Belupo in the past. Dinamo lost only four of the 37 matches in Koprivnica so far, drew six, and won 27 of them. With 74 goals scored against Slaven Belupo's 25, Dinamo Zagreb have a significantly better goal difference. The total mutual result, which shows that Dinamo Zagreb won 64 out of 79 meetings, and Slaven Belupo had only 6 wins and 9 draws, further emphasizes this supremacy. The fact that Slaven Belupo have not beaten Dinamo Zagreb at home since 2017 speaks of the difficulties he will face in this match. Dinamo Zagreb are the clear favorite going into the match based on these numbers and their recent performance. During the season, they showed resilience and consistency, they should show those qualities once again in this match even if they are playing with youngsters in the first squad.