Chelsea will begin their 2022-23 Champions League campaign with a tricky fixture against Dinamo Zagreb away from home on Tuesday. Thomas Tuchel, who guided his team to European success two seasons ago, will be hoping for another brilliant campaign as they kick off their group stage as part of Group E, which also has RB Salzburg and AC Milan.
Dinamo Zagreb turned around a first-leg deficit of 0-1 and claimed a 4-1 win against Bodo in the Champions League play-offs to earn their place among the big teams at European football's top table. The Croatian side has been performing well in their domestic league, having won seven and drawn one out of a total of eight league matches.
How To Watch
Match: Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea
Date & Time: September 6 @ 5:45 PM (BST) / 12:45 PM (ET)
Venue: Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb City, Croatia
TV Channel: BT Sport 4, CBS Sports, Sony Sports Network
Online Streaming: fuboTV, BT Sport App & Sony Liv (Try for free)
Watch in Canada: DAZN Canada
Team News
Dinamo Zagreb: With five goals in eight league games, Mislav Orsic has been a standout player for Dinamo Zagreb in front of goal this season. The Croatian forward will hope to make an impact against the Premier League club as head coach Ante Cacic plans to take his team's domestic form to Europe.
Cacic rested several players, including captain Arijan Ademi during the weekend's league win against Rijeka. The Croatian league champions are set to welcome their best players back into the starting lineup against Chelsea.
Chelsea: Chelsea fans will be looking forward to the involvement of new signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria as both of them are part of the travelling squad.
The only absentees for Thomas Tuchel are N'golo Kante and Thiago Silva who have stayed back in Cobham. The Chelsea boss is also likely to hand Kepa Arrizabalaga a chance in goal ahead of first-choice keeper Edouard Mendy.
Head to Head
They haven’t faced each other in the Champions League yet.
Prediction: Chelsea might have looked shaky on their travels thus far in the 2022/23 season, but they tend to perform better in away UEFA Champions League games, also doing so last season. The Blues also have a solid record on the road in recent years, although they might have an uphill task to get the better of Dinamo Zagreb.
The Croatian giants have already played nearly three times as many games as Chelsea this term and will be sharper in most areas. But the gulf in quality might make the difference for Chelsea, especially with several players looking to prove a point. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Thomas Tuchel’s charges on Tuesday.
Score Prediction: Dinamo Zagreb 1 - 2 Chelsea