GNK Dinamo Zagreb will discover all their opponents for the Europa League group stage in Friday's draw. The ceremony takes place in Monaco, with the Blues expected to be placed in the second seeding pot.
The draw will be held at the Grimaldi Forum, starting at 13:00 local time. The event will be broadcast on Arena Sport 1. A total of 36 clubs will be divided into four pots, with each team facing eight different opponents. This means four home and four away matches. UEFA will use a digital system to determine the pairings to speed up the process.
Alongside Dinamo, seven other clubs who dropped down from the Champions League play-offs have secured a Europa League spot. These include Celtic, Lyon, and Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The remaining 12 participants will be known after Thursday's second-leg play-off matches. The first pot could contain teams like Roma, Manchester United, and Villarreal. A potential opponent from the third pot is Crvena zvezda, which would be a replay of last season's Champions League qualifying tie.
Dinamo currently sits second in the Croatian First League, three points behind leaders Rijeka. The team has won three of its last four matches. A detailed overview of all results and upcoming domestic fixtures is available on our fixtures page.
The competition's financial reward system is substantial. Each win in the league phase is worth €450,000, while a draw brings €150,000. This means a theoretical maximum of eight wins in this phase would yield €3.6 million. Clubs also receive a starting fee for participation.
Prize money increases in the knockout stage. The tournament winner earns €15.14 million, while the runner-up receives €8.15 million. Reaching the round of 16 is worth €2.04 million. These amounts do not include revenue from TV rights and ticket sales, which further boost the budget. Dinamo's current captain, Arijan Ademi, is one of the squad's most experienced players in European competitions.
The new Europa League league phase is significantly expanded. Each club plays against eight different opponents, four times at home and four times away. After these eight rounds, the top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16. Teams placed 9th to 24th will play an additional play-off for that stage, while the season ends for clubs ranked 25th to 36th.
This is the first season in this format, presenting a new challenge for all participants. Dinamo has experience in European competitions, but this match schedule will require squad depth. Manager Sergej Jakirović will have the full squad at his disposal, except for the injured Marko Bulat. An overview of all available players can be seen on the squad page.
UEFA is expected to announce the exact dates and kick-off times by Saturday. Dinamo will play its first match in the league phase in September. The first match for the Blues after the draw will be a home game against Istra 1961 on Saturday, September 14th, at 17:15.
