Romanian League
2011-09-11 - Universitatea Cluj vs Concordia Chiajna
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: "Municipal", Medias
Sunday 11th September - Kickoff time: 19:00 GMT+2
Universitatea Cluj (5th W-3 D-1 L-1)
This is the last month of Universitatea’s exile, they’ve been playing in Medias since the second part of the previous season, but in October they will return to Cluj, where their newly built stadium is almost done. They’ve been doing quite well in Medias, winning both games played there, against Rapid and Petrolul Ploiesti.
Universitatea can take a place on the podium at the end of this stage if they manage to overcome Concordia Chiajna, a team that only collected one point in 5 games.
I do not expect Universitatea to be among the best teams when playing away from home, because they don’t have the fastest players that could strike on counter attacks, but when playing at home against teams that play defensively, they do have the quality to break their defense, having an excellent trio in front (Cristea, Niculescu and Machado), supported by Pacurar, their playmaker.
If they manage to keep their form until they come home, Universitatea will have the chance to fight for a top position, because I can’t see which team will be able to defeat them in Cluj, where I expect at least 15-20000 fans at every game, including myself.
Concordia Chiajna (18th W-0 D-1 L-4)
Concordia was a question mark for everyone at the beginning of the season, they did signed some experienced players with many Liga 1 games in their CV, like Petre Marin (ex- Steaua), Vlad Munteanu (ex-Wolfsburg and Dinamo) or Eugen Trica (ex-CFR Cluj), but they are no longer in the best form of their careers.
Chiajna showed their limits from the very beginning, when they lost to Sportul Studentesc at home. Suprisingly, their only point came after a game against champions Otelul Galati, which they managed to held to a goalless draw, but Otelul later showed that they are not longer the team that won the league, I am quite afraid of what will happen in the CL with them, against Manchester or Benfica, but that is another story.
Concordia is yet to score a goal on the road, they’ve actually only scored once in the 1-2 defeat to Sportul Studentesc.
I think the quality from the second Romanian league is way below what should be, so when team promote to Liga 1, they find themselves unable to cope with the pressure and the level of football played here. Concordia and Mioveni are perfect examples, I think there is not much hope for them in their battle to avoid relegation and changes in the winter transfer period could be too late.
The betting verdict
This should be a one sided game, I expect Universitatea to dominate during the entire game, but I am concerned with their defense, they conceded two goals against Petrolul Ploiesti in their previous home game and needed a 90th minute goal to secure a win, but they might hold on to a clean sheet against Concordia, a team that only scored once this season.
Odds for a home win are short, but fair in my opinion, Universitatea looks strong at home, it’s difficult to forget the 2-0 victory against Rapid Bucuresti, the team placed second at the moment. If 1.40 is not attractive, you could try Universitatea to win to nil at 1.90 Bet365.
The Pick :
Universitatea Cluj 2-0 Concordia Chiajna
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Universitatea Cluj to win at 1.38 PinnacleConfidence: 9/10
