With Dinamo Zagreb sitting at rock bottom at the moment, this match is their final opportunity to try and reignite their bid for a place in the knockout stages. Meanwhile, PSV recovered well from the shock defeat to Ludogorets and they will be searching for the second successive victory having defeated Chernomorets in their second group game.

Coaches come and go

Croatia’s most famous club have been largely struggling to live up to the expectations over the last few years, with heavy investments into the playing squad producing little to no results. Constant bickering between the club chiefs and loyal fans are also creating a very poor atmosphere and maybe it is not that surprising that Modri are unable to record decent results in European competitions. Dinamo once again missed out on a place in the Champions League group stages as they were eliminated by Austria Wien, while their Europa League campaign also got off to a poor start. After the home defeat to Chernomorets was followed by 3-0 setback at Ludogorets, Dinamo find themselves in all sorts of problems ahead of the PSV game. With coach Branko Ivankovic paying the price for the weekend’s defeat to RNK Split and important midfielder Said Husejinovic picking up a season-ending injury, the hosts don’t really have much to hope for at the moment, especially as the home field advantage will be non-existent due to the fact that their fans will use every opportunity to insult the players.

Said Husejinovic and Grzegorz Sandomierski are out injured, whereas Zvonko Pamic is doubtful. Lee Addy and Marcelo Brozovic should return.

Great opportunity for PSV

Ending Ajax’s three-year domination in Dutch Eredivisie is the first thing on PSV’s minds this season, but the club are also interested in reaching the final stages of the Europa League. The Philips Stadium outfit entered the new season with a much changed squad, but new boss Philip Cocu has done really well to quickly rebuild the team. As a result, PSV sit just one point behind Eredivisie leaders Twente in spite of the weekend’s defeat to Groningen, whereas they are in a good position to progress from their Europa League group. Home defeat to Ludogorets in their opening group match was clearly a one-off result, with the 2-0 away win over very good Chernomorets side the perfect proof. PSV ended their winning run at the weekend as they suffered a narrow defeat to Groningen, but the Dutch side clearly have more than enough quality and experience to see off out-of-sorts Dinamo and make a giant step towards the next stage. The return of important midfielder Stijn Schaars should increase their chances of winning in Zagreb.

Stijn Schaars has returned into action at the weekend, but Karim Rekik, Ji-Sung Park and Georginio Wijnaldum miss out through injury.

Verdict

Dinamo are all over the place at the moment and their dismal home record against European powerhouses is enough to suggest another disappointing defeat is on the cards. PSV Eindhoven may be missing some important players, but they should still have enough in them to record a comfortable victory in Zagreb.

Top pick: Away win   2.20 (6/5) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score   1.80 (4/5) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 2: Away win + both teams to score   4.40 (17/5) @ Coral