Sunderland have been in awful form in recent weeks, but the Europa League has been a safe haven of sorts for them. Thursday sees the Black Cats in European action again as they welcome Dinamo Zagreb to the Stadium of Light.
Despite their domestic struggles, Sunderland are still unbeaten in the Europa League and sit in 9th. Dinamo Zagreb, meanwhile, are down in 18th and will hope to make the knockout stage play-offs.
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So can Sunderland get back on track with a win here?
Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Sunderland and Dinamo Zagreb have never faced off before on the European stage, but the Croatian side do have history against Premier League opponents. Most famously, they eliminated Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur from the Europa League’s Last 16 in 2021.
- Sunderland are still unbeaten in the Europa League this season. They have claimed wins over AZ Alkmaar and Torreense, and most recently drew away in Poland against Lech Poznan despite opening the scoring in the second minute.
- Domestic games have proven harder for the Black Cats, though. Sunderland are rooted to the foot of the Premier League table right now, with just a single win to their name thus far. This past weekend, they were well-beaten by fellow strugglers Coventry City, losing 3-1 to pile pressure on boss Regis Le Bris.
- Dinamo Zagreb have won one, drawn one and lost one of their three Europa League matches, with their most recent game being a home defeat to Dutch side NEC. In domestic games, they have only lost twice this season – but will be coming into this game on the back of one of those losses, as they fell 1-0 to a lower-ranked side at the weekend.
- Scoring goals has proven to be the big issue for Sunderland in the Premier League. They have only scored seven so far, the second-fewest in the competition, and even in the Europa League, they have only scored four despite facing largely weaker opponents.
Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb Prediction
After losing to Coventry at the weekend, Sunderland could really do with a positive result here. A loss to Dinamo Zagreb could well put Regis Le Bris’ job at risk. So can his side do it?
Their lack of goals means that it’s hard to trust them to beat any team right now. However, on paper at least, they are far superior to Dinamo Zagreb, and their home advantage should play a part too.
If the Croatian side can score the first goal then the Black Cats could be in trouble, but the prediction here is a home win.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result – Sunderland to win.
Tip 2: Game to feature fewer than 2.5 goals – Yes (Sunderland are one of the lowest-scoring teams in both the Premier League and Europa League).
Tip 3: Sunderland to keep a clean sheet – Yes (Dinamo Zagreb have not been a free-scoring side either this season).
Edited by Scott M Newman
