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Red Bull Salzburg travel to Croatia to face Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening looking to strengthen their position at the top of Group E.
However, while the Austrian outfit are currently on course to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, bottom-placed Dinamo Zagreb can overtake them in the table with victory in front of their own supporters.
Having been drawn against the likes of AC Milan and Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg would have relished the challenges ahead of them, yet remained realistic about their chances of qualification.
Nevertheless, Matthias Jaissle’s side have reached the halfway stage of the group with five points from three games and yet to suffer a defeat.
On the back of draws with the two European giants, Salzburg edged out Dinamo Zagreb by a 1-0 scoreline last week, Noah Okafor scoring for the third European game in succession.
That said, Salzburg are not overly reliant on the attacker, with their defensive effort also deserving praise with just two goals being conceded.
Die Roten Bullen are now 16 matches unbeaten in all competitions, while they have opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga standings.
From Dinamo Zagreb’s perspective, there will be some disappointment that they have failed to build on their opening-matchday success over Chelsea.
However, with his team just two points adrift of first place and two home matches still to play, Ante Cacic will not be too disheartened.
Clean sheets have been few and far between this season, but Dinamo Zagreb have collected 31 points from a possible 33 in Croatia’s top flight, scoring 34 goals in the process.
Although that is yet to be transferred to European action, the Blues will always be a threat as long as Mislav Orsic, who has netted both their goals in the group stages, is in the starting lineup.