Villarreal CF will try and get their first ever win on Croatian soil (Thursday, 9pm CEST)
Throughout their history, Villarreal have only played on game in Croatia. It was in the 2010/11 season, when the Submarine were put in the same UEFA Europa League group as RNK Dinamo Zagreb, who the Yellows will face this Thursday in the quarter-finals of the same competition. In Zagreb, Villarreal lost 2-0 to Dinamo in a tough game. The Yellows got their revenge in the game in Vila-real, winning 3-0 at the stadium then known as El Madrigal. Giuseppe Rossi scored twice, and Marco Rubén scored the other Villarreal goal.
RNK Dinamo Zagreb, a Croatian giant
RNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatian champions, have reached the quarter-finals after impressively beating Tottenham Hotspur in the Round of 16 (2-0 away and 3-0 at home). In the previous round, they beat Krasnodar (2-3 away from home and 1-0 at home). In the group stage, they finished top of Group I with 14 points, ahead of Wolfsberg, Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow.
One of their best players is Mislav Orsic. The Croatian player put in an impressive performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the Round of 16, scoring a hat-trick. So far this season, he has 14 goals in the league and five in the Europa League.