Matchday 5 of the 2024/25 Europa League group stage will see Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) face Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) on November 28 at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany. Dynamo Kyiv vs. Viktoria Plzen: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)
Matches – 10 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 34;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.4;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 28;
Penalties – 20%.
Predicted lineups for Dynamo Kyiv vs. Viktoria Plzen
Dynamo Kyiv (4-3-3): Georgiy Bushchan – Christian Bilovar, Taras Mihavko, Oleksandr Karavayev, Vladyslav Dubinchak – Mykola Shaparenko, Volodymyr Brazhko, Vitaliy Buyalskyi – Nazar Voloshyn, Vladyslav Kabayev, Vladyslav Vanat.
Viktoria Plzen (3-5-2): Martin Jedlicka – Vaclav Jemelka, Svetozar Markovic, Jan Paluska – Milan Havel, Lukas Cerny, Pavel Sulc, Lukas Kalvach, Cadu Cruz – Erik Jirka, Prince Kwabena Adu.
The lineups reflect each team's starting XI from their previous match in this tournament.
Dynamo Kyiv
The Ukrainians are at the bottom of the Europa League group stage standings. After four rounds, Dynamo has not earned a single point, similar to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Additionally, Kyiv remains the only team yet to score in the main stage of this European competition. In the previous round, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's side suffered a 0-4 defeat to Ferencvaros, marking their second heavy loss in this tournament. Earlier, the club lost 0-3 to Lazio.
Defender Vladyslav Dubinchak is suspended due to a red card in the last match.
- Dynamo is on a five-match losing streak in the Europa League.
- The club conceded first in 12 of their previous matches in this tournament.
- The Ukrainians failed to score in 9 of their last 12 Europa League games.
Viktoria Plzen
Unlike their opponents, the Czechs have yet to lose in the main stage of the 2024/25 Europa League. However, they secured their first victory only in the last match, defeating Real Sociedad 2-1 at home. Prior to that, Viktoria drew three consecutive matches. With six points, Miroslav Koubek's side is in 16th place, three points behind the top eight.
- The club's unbeaten streak in this tournament stands at eight matches (5 wins and 3 draws).
- No more than three goals have been scored in 90 minutes in 18 of Viktoria's last 20 Europa League games.
- In 6 of their last 7 Europa League matches, the first half ended in a draw.
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Viktoria Plzen: Match Prediction
Kyiv has been disappointing in this Europa League campaign. The team not only lost all four rounds but also failed to score a single goal. While the first three losses could be attributed to facing teams from top leagues, the heavy defeat to the Hungarians showed that the team is not competing at full strength in the group stage. Notably, before the match against Ferencvaros, Ukrainian clubs had never lost to Hungarian teams in European competitions (12 wins and 1 draw).
I believe the Ukrainians have accepted that they are unlikely to achieve anything significant in this European competition. Moreover, they have 11 losses and one draw in their last 12 matches in this tournament. The lack of motivation could be exploited by the Czechs, who remain unbeaten, having already faced teams from the Bundesliga and La Liga. Interestingly, in the qualifiers for the group stage, Viktoria defeated another Ukrainian Premier League representative, Kryvbas, in two matches (2-1 and 1-0).
My prediction – Viktoria Plzen with a handicap (0)
