Romanian League
2011-08-20 - Universitatea Cluj vs Petrolul Ploiesti
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: "Municipal", Medias
Saturday 20th August - Kickoff time: 21:30 GMT+2
Universitatea Cluj
Universitatea started the championship well with two victories to nil over Mioveni and Rapid Bucuresti, but failed to continue on this line, losing on the away game against Steaua Bucuresti with 2-1.
This was no surprise, because it is well known that “U” is way more vulnerable when playing away from home, because they have to play on counter-attack and they don’t have the players to play that way. That is why they’ve lost 9 games on the road in the previous season.
However, when playing at home, they can use the quality of their players to keep a high possession and control the game.
Universitatea still has to play in Medias, because their newly built stadium is not finished yet, so that would be a disadvantage, but they showed great class in their previous game here, defeating Rapid Bucuresti, a team that fights for the title.
Petrolul Ploiesti
Petrolul is playing decent for a newly-promoted team, they have already collected 4 points in three games despite playing against tough opponents like champions Otelul Galati, a game they have won, FC Vaslui and Rapid.
Petrolul was 3 minutes away from being undefeated in these games, but Daniel Pancu gave Rapid 3 points by scoring an 87th minute goal to frustrate a home team that played well until then.
Despite having players that are rather unknown even by Liga 1 standards, Petrolul showed great determination and if they continue playing like this they may avoid relegation, which is their objective.
The betting verdict
This is Universitatea’s second game against a newly promoted team, in the first one they won the away game against CS Mioveni thanks to Brazilian striker Machado’s first half goal. It was a poor game, but Universitatea did just enough to get all three points.
Universitatea is the better team on paper and I think that the game against Rapid was a good example of their strength when playing at home, so they should win this one against a team that has not scored in their previous two games.
The Pick :
Universitatea Cluj 2-0 Petrolul Ploiesti
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Universitatea Cluj to win at 1.73 LadbrokesConfidence: 8/10
