Hajku and Dinamo will play the ninth-round derby of the SuperSport HNL on Saturday, 10 October at 15:00, at the Poljud Stadium. Both teams enter the match with 16 points, but Dinamo have achieved this total from seven games, whereas Hajku have gathered the same number of points from eight matches. Dinamo thus have one fewer game played.
Hajku will not be able to count on Adrijan Pažin. Head coach Gonzalo García confirmed that Pažin will not be fit for the match, having injured his hamstring in the previous league match against Rijeka, which is why he was unavailable for the Albanian national team. Dinamo will travel to Split without captain Josip Mišić, who must serve a suspension following a red card in the previous league match against Lokomotiva.
The two sides enter the derby with different results in the previous round. Dinamo defeated Lokomotiva 3-2, while Hajku lost away to Rijeka 0-3. Gonzalo García has yet to defeat Dinamo since taking charge of Hajku, although he achieved victories against the Zagreb-based club when he was in charge of Istra. The coach of Dinamo is Mario Kovačević.
The Croatian Football Federation has appointed Igor Pač from Sveti Ivan Želina as the main referee for the derby. Pač will be assisted by Bojan Zobenica from Velika Gorica and Ivan Starčević from Bjelovar, while the fourth official will be Dario Bel from Osijek. The video assistant referee (VAR) will be Ivan Bebek from Rijeka, with the assistant VAR being Goran Pata from Đak. The first whistle of Igor Pač at Poljud is scheduled for 15:00.
The broadcast is available on the MAX Sport channel. Police have classified the match as a high-risk event, advising fans to arrive early due to security checks and ticket inspections. In addition to Hajku and Dinamo, Osijek also have 16 points.
