Leverkusen's Perfect Europa League Record Meets a Zagreb Side Running Out of Room

Thursday evening. Zagreb. A team that has not conceded a single goal in their Europa League campaign this season hosting a Dinamo side that shipped four at home to NEC Nijmegen last month. The numbers tell you something. Your eyes would tell you the same thing.

Dinamo Zagreb: The Problem Is Simple

Look at Zagreb's last three Europa League matches and the picture is mixed at best. A draw at home to Hapoel Be'er Sheva. A 1-0 win over Anderlecht. Then that 2-4 defeat at home to NEC Nijmegen. One win, one draw, one loss from three. Three goals scored, four conceded.

The thing is, that Nijmegen result is the one that concerns me. You lose at home, conceding four, to a side from the Netherlands. That is not a tactical problem. That is a standards problem. That is a squad that is not competing at the level required, end of.

Zagreb have kept two clean sheets in those three matches, which tells you they can be defensively solid when the attitude is right. But the moment the pressure came on against Nijmegen, they fell apart. Leverkusen will apply far more pressure than Nijmegen did. Far more.

Bayer Leverkusen: This Is What Consistency Looks Like

Three Europa League matches. Three wins. Eight goals scored. Zero conceded. Leverkusen beat Celje 2-0, beat Lech Poznan 4-0, beat OFI 2-0. The scorelines are clean. The clean sheets are perfect. That is not luck. That is a team that competes for the full ninety minutes and executes the basics.

Listen, I do not need a laptop to tell you what that record means. It means Leverkusen are disciplined, organised, and ruthless in front of goal. They do not switch off. They do not give teams a way back in. That is accountability across the entire squad, from front to back.

The injury situation at Leverkusen is worth noting. They have six players currently unavailable, including one long-term suspension and one major injury that has been ongoing since September. That is not a small list. Any other squad and you would say it hurts them. But they have won all three Europa League matches with these absences already in place. They have handled it.

The Key Battleground

Desire. That is what this comes down to. Zagreb need to produce something in this stadium that they did not produce against Nijmegen. They need to compete for every second ball, defend their shape, and make Leverkusen work for everything.

The thing is, Leverkusen's defensive record tells you that Zagreb will need a performance well above what they have shown in this competition so far. Three matches, three goals scored. That is not a front line that will punish a disciplined Leverkusen backline consistently. Zagreb's best hope is keeping it tight early and making the game nervy. The moment it opens up, Leverkusen will score.

Connor's Call

Leverkusen win and keep another clean sheet. I would back it. They have the attitude and the execution. Zagreb have shown they can defend, but they have also shown they can crumble. Against this Leverkusen side, crumbling is not an option you recover from. Leverkusen to win to nil. One selection. Back it properly or do not bother.