Europa League
2026-11-05 - Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Match Day 4
Thursday 5th November 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Sunderland
It has been reported by the English media that the Sunderland board are still very much convinced that Regis Le Bris can turn things around at the Stadium of Light. That will please the manager, but he will have a nervy couple of weeks sitting through the international break if Sunderland have not found a way to produce a couple of positive results across the next few days.
The Premier League form is a real concern, but Regis Le Bris has guided Sunderland through to the League Cup Quarter Final and the successes of the last couple of weeks has given the manager some credit in the bank. The Black Cats are also 9th in the Europa League standings having earned 7 points from a possible 9 so far in this competition.
Sunderland beat Brentford in the League Cup Fourth Round, but that is the sole win in the last 5 games played in all competitions and they were beaten 3-1 at Coventry City last time out. The side have struggled for wins in the Premier League, but Sunderland have won the last 3 Cup ties they have hosted.
Dinamo Zagreb
In recent years, Dinamo Zagreb have been the dominant team in Croatian Football, but they had a seven year stint as Champions ended in 2025 and needed to bounce back to reclaim that status last season. It meant entering the Champions League, but Dinamo Zagreb lost the final Qualifying tie against Viking having won a couple before that and that meant dropping into the Europa League.
They played in this competition last season and Dinamo Zagreb picked up 10 points in the League Phase and that took them through to the Knock Out Play Off Round where they were eventually beaten by Genk. The side will play on Match Day 4 of the League Phase this season in 18th place in the Europa League standings and with 4 points secured.
Dinamo Zagreb have won 5 of the last 8 games in all competitions, although all of the exceptions have been matches that have ended in defeat. They have lost 2 of the last 3 away games in all competitions, but Dinamo Zagreb earned a goalless draw against Hapoel Be'er Sheva on a neutral ground. Dinamo Zagreb have lost 1 of the last 5 away European ties played.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive meeting between these clubs.
Prediction
Losing to an opponent that will be considered one that is going to be fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League has put Regis Le Bris under significant pressure as manager of Sunderland.
A 'vote of no confidence' has been given to a manager who has had a huge amount of success guiding Sunderland over the last couple of years, but Le Bris will be looking for two positive home results before the November international break.
After a poor domestic start, Regis Le Bris will have one eye on the fixture coming up against Chelsea in the Premier League and that may mean making a number of changes to the starting lineup. There is some depth to this Sunderland squad and previous changes for Cup ties have not prevented The Black Cats from finding wins in this kind of setting.
They are going to be considerable favourites against Croatian Champions Dinamo Zagreb.
On Match Day 3, Dinamo Zagreb were being thumped 2-4 at home by NEC Nijmegen, while they have been inconsistent domestically over the last several weeks.
Dinamo Zagreb will be well aware that this is a significant gap to bridge and they were beaten 3-1 at Viking in the Champions League Play Off Qualifier. There are some vulnerabilities in the Sunderland squad as confidence has been dented, but The Black Cats should have enough to win this Europa League game with a relative degree of comfort.
Regis Le Bris will need that to give his team a boost ahead of the next Premier League game against Chelsea on Sunday and Sunderland have found enough to secure victories in the Europa League and League Cup.
Covering this Asian Handicap will not be easy, but Dinamo Zagreb have been beaten pretty heavily in away European ties at Lille, Midtjylland and Viking over the last twelve months and Sunderland should have too much for them here.
The Pick :
Sunderland 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb
