Dinamo Zagreb vs Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League Matchday 4 Odds, Picks & Betting Preview

• It’s Matchday 4 in the UEFA Champions League next week
• Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk both in pursuit of Man City who top Group C
• Home advantage makes Zagreb slight favorites in the odds for next Wednesday’s match

It’s second versus third in UEFA Champions League Group C, when Shakhtar Donetsk travel to Zagreb on Matchday 4 on November 6, at 4:00 pm EST.

Both teams still have plenty to play for as they battle for the prized second spot behind runaway leaders Manchester City.

Dinamo Zagreb vs Shakhtar Donetsk UCL Odds

Odds taken on October 31, 2019

With City already clear, the battle for second and a lucrative place in the knockout stages is really starting to heat up. With Dinamo and Shakhtar separated only by goal difference, the stakes couldn’t be higher going into Wednesday’s game with the odds suggesting that home advantage could make the difference.

As things stand, it would take a momentous collapse from Man City for both of these two to make it through and that’s not going to happen, so this really is one that neither can afford to lose. This immediately brings the +233 for the draw into play, especially with the pair drawing 2-2 in Ukraine last time out.

Zagreb’s Home Form the Key

Dinamo’s Champions League campaign got off to an absolute flyer with a thumping 4-0 over tournament debutants, Atalanta. An early goal from Marin Leovac and a hat-trick from Mislav Orsic gave the Croatians the dream start and sent out a strong signal to the other three teams in the group. It also ended a miserable run of 11 consecutive defeats in Champions League group games for Zagreb.

Unfortunately for Zagreb, they had little opportunity to build on that as next up for them was Man City away. In fact, they played well on the night and it took a City goal deep into injury time to make the points safe after Sterling had given them the lead midway through the second half.

As a result, they headed to Kharkiv – where Shakhtar play their home games – with confidence, and it was justified as they came away with a well-earned 2-2 draw; Yevhen Konoplyanka and Dodo scoring for Shakhtar and Dani Olmo and Orsic replying for Zagreb.

All of which sets it up perfectly for this week’s reverse fixture, with Dinamo possibly thinking they have the edge having earned that away point in Ukraine.

Shakhtar Under Pressure

For the Ukrainians, to still be in contention for top two at this stage is a huge plus, All too often in the recent past, the group stage has been over almost before it has begun but here they have a real chance, even after they got their campaign off to the worst possible start.

A visit from Man City was always going to be tough but still, a 3-0 home defeat was not what Shakhtar had hoped. They more than made up for it two weeks later, however, when they went to Atalanta and produced a classic European away performance to collect all three points.

Despite trailing to Zapata’s 28th-minute goal, Junior Moraes pulled one back for Donetsk just before half-time, and in the fifth minute of injury-time, Manor Solomon clinched the three points in dramatic fashion.

The home draw with Zagreb that followed was perceived at the time as an opportunity missed, but leaves them still very much in the mix.

Nothing to Choose

So, while the edge here may appear to be with the Croatians given they earned that point away in Ukraine, these are two very well-matched teams. So much so, I feel the value here is very much with another draw, maybe even another 2-2.

My pick: The draw at +233