Dinamo Zagreb prepared for their Europa League tie with Celtic by beating second placed Rijeka 3-0 to stay on course for 10-in-a-row.
Despite their dominance on the home front Dinamo have had a disastrous Europa League campaign losing their last four matches after starting the campaign with a convincing home win over Astra.
Yesterday’s win gives them a seven point lead over Rijeka with just one more round of fixtures before the winter break. Angelo Henriquez, on loan from Manchester United, scored the third goal.
Only 3,000 fans watched the top-of-the-table match but among them were scouts from AC Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund with 22-year-old Dinamo midfielder Marcelo Brozovic expected to be on the move next month with a fee of £8m likely.
Despite being assured of qualification Ronny Deila will be going all out for a win on Thursday night as he prepares for the draw for the last 32 of the competition.
Celtic will be unseeded for that draw which will include eight clubs dropping out of the Champions League.
After Celtic’s disastrous Champions League campaign Deila is anxious to make as big an impact as possible on the Europa League which will help the club and Scotland’s co-efficient.
“The national team for Scotland is now doing better, if we can also do well, and one or two of the other clubs do so as well, then we will have a much easier passage into the Champions League or the Europa League,” the hoops boss said.
“We have to think of Scottish football. That is the most important thing. The valuation is about Scottish football – it is not only about Celtic. So, you need everyone to do well. The better Scottish football does, the easier it is for the clubs and the national team to do well in the future.”