Dinamo Zagreb will seek to capitalise on their first-leg draw at Young Boys and deny the Swiss side a group stage debut as their UEFA Champions League play-off concludes in Croatia.
• Young Boys made a dream start in Berne on 22 August when Kevin Mbabu fired them into a second-minute lead, but Mislav Oršić’s reply shortly before half-time could prove invaluable as Dinamo aim to reach the group stage once again.
Form guide
Dinamo
• Dinamo have drawn both previous home European games against Swiss visitors: 4-4 against Grasshoppers in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup first round (9-4 aggregate) and 0-0 with Basel in the group stage of the same competition in 2007/08.
• The Zagreb club claimed a 19th Croatian league title in 2017/18, having had their run of 11 successive championships ended the previous season.
• Dinamo have reached the group stage on six previous occasions, and are bidding to qualify for the third time in four seasons. In 2017/18, they lost on away goals to Albania’s SkĂ«nderbeu in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.
• The Croatian champions have won three of their five games in qualifying this season, beating Israel’s Hapoel Beer-Sheva 7-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round before a 3-0 defeat of Astana over two games.
• The first-leg draw extended Dinamo’s unbeaten European run to nine games, home and away (W4 D5) – they had lost their previous six. The Zagreb side are unbeaten in four home matches (W3 D1), since a 1-0 reverse against Lyon in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Dinamo’s record in UEFA Champions League play-offs is W4 L1 – that sole defeat coming against Austria Wien in 2013/14 (3-4 aggregate). They have also won three of their four UEFA Europa League play-offs.
• Dinamo lost their only previous UEFA penalty shoot-out:
5-6 v Sheriff Tiraspol, 2010/11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round
Young Boys
• Young Boys were Swiss champions in 2017/18 – their 12th league title, but a first since 1986.
• This is Young Boys’ sixth UEFA Champions League campaign and fourth play-off – they have never reached the group stage. Twelve months ago, they lost home (0-1) and away (0-2) to CSKA Moskva, having previously been beaten at this stage by Tottenham (6-3 on aggregate) in 2010/11 and Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-9) in 2015/16.
• Young Boys did reach the semi-finals of the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs’ Cup, losing 3-1 over two legs against Stade de Reims.
• The Berne side have won only one of their last nine European games (D4 L4), beating Albania’s SkĂ«nderbeu 2-1 on matchday six of last season’s UEFA Europa League – their last game before the first leg of this tie.
• The Swiss club have won only one of their last seven UEFA Champions League qualifying matches, losing five and drawing with Dinamo.
• This is Young Boys’ first European tie against Croatian opposition.
• Young Boys have won both of their penalty shoot-outs in UEFA competition:
4-2 v Shakhtar Donetsk, 2016/17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round
4-1 v Zimbru Chisinau, 2012/13 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round
Links and trivia
• Dinamo forward Izet Hajrović was born in Switzerland and represented the country at youth levels, winning a senior cap in 2012 before opting to play for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• Hajrović and Young Boys midfielder Ulisses Garcia both started their professional career at Grasshoppers, and were Werder Bremen team-mates from 2016 to 2018.
• Dinamo forward Mario Gavranović was born in Lugano and has 16 senior caps for Switzerland, making two appearances at this summer’s FIFA World Cup. He started his professional career at Lugano and had spells with Yverdon-Sport, Neuchâtel Xamax and ZĂĽrich before moving to Croatia in 2016.
• Gavranović and Young Boys defender Loris Benito were Zürich team-mates from 2012 to 2014.
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