Romanian League
2011-07-22 - Dinamo Bucuresti vs FCM Targu Mures
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football: Romania: Liga 1
Venue: Stadion Astra, Ploiesti
Friday 22th July - Kickoff time: 20:20 GMT+2
Dinamo Bucuresti
Dinamo finished 6th the last season of Liga 1 and qualified for the Europa League. They can never be ruled out from the battle for the championship, but the general impression about them is that it will be tough for them to reach the podium at the end of this new season.
Many expected to see some transfers, but they seem to apply a new strategy and that is using young players, probably constrained by financial issues. Dinamo got rid of some players that had big salaries, like Margaritescu, Mehmedovici, Dolha, Rubio or Bordeanu and will try to make the most of their current squad.
Striker Marius Niculae returned to Dinamo after an adventure in Greece, where he played for Kavala. Left-back Cristian Pulhac however played in a stronger league, Spanish Primera for Hercules Alicante, but his loan was not renewed after relegating to Segunda.
Dinamo played more than 10 preparation games, losing to Austria Viena, Lokomotiv Moscow and Red Bull Salzburg, but they registered a 2-1 victory against FC Basel.
FCM Targu Mures
FCM had a decent first season in Liga 1 after their promotion, finishing the championship 11th. They made a lot of changes in the summer transfer period, transferring 10 players, almost an entire squad. Among them is central defender Sorin Ghionea, who was Steaua's captain a couple of years back and Brazilian attacking midfielder Celsinho who came on loan from Sporting Lisbon. He has a good CV, having played for Brazil U17 and U20, coming to Europe via Lokomotiv Moscow.
Ioan Ovidiu Sabau has now a team with a lot of experience and I can see them causing some upsets, but not now in the beginning of the season, because with so many new arrivals I reckon they will need some time to develop a coherent game.
Targu Mures was playing rather poor in their Austrian training camp, losing one of their latest friendly against a modest newly promoted team from Ucraine.
The betting verdict
In the previous season, both games between these two teams were dominated by Dinamo, the team from Bucharest scoring 10 goals and conceding 3. Targu Mures lost 2-6 at home and 1-4 in Bucharest.
This match will be played in Ploiesti (100 km from the capital) because Dinamo's stadium is being suspended, their supporters causeing quite a mess in the Cup final.
Dinamo still has some players that have been playing together for a long period of time and the quality is on their side, so I expect them to start the season with a win against a team that still needs to find its identity.
I am not sure if we will see as many goals as we saw in their latest confrontations, but I expect to see at least three, maybe one from the visitors as well.
The Pick :
Dinamo Bucuresti 2-1 FCM Targu-Mures
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Dinamo to win at 1.40 LadbrokesConfidence: 8/10
Take Over 2.5 goals at 1.91 Victor Chandler
Confidence: 7/10 (Main Bet)
