Romanian League
2012-11-03 - CFR Cluj vs Brasov
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Romania: Liga 1
Venue: "Dr. Constantin Radulescu" - Cluj-Napoca
Saturday 3rd November – Kickoff time: 19:30 GMT+2
CFR Cluj (7th W5 D4 L4)
The coach that won the title with CFR, Ioan Andone resigned at the end of the previous week, leaving CFR on the 7th place, 13 points behind leaders Steaua Bucuresti and second in their CL group behind Manchester United.
CFR has already found a replacement, Portuguese coach Sergio Brito took over the team at the beginning of the week signing a contract that will last until the end of the season. Brito is the former coach of Sporting Lisbon and Hearts.
I guess bringing a Portuguese coach makes sense, since there’s an important contingent of Brazilian and Portuguese players, but taking over a team in the middle of the season in a foreign country could be quite a challenge for him.
CFR played on Wednesday in the Romanian Cup against FC Botosani and managed to progress, but their performance lacked consistency, Liga 2 side Botosani managed to hold on for an hour before conceding the first of the two goals from a set piece.
Brasov (8th W5 D4 L4)
Brasov met a way stronger opponent in the Romanian Cup and unfortunately for them they’ve been eliminated from the competition by Petrolul Ploiesti (0-2).
They will now travel to Cluj where they’ll be trying to avoid a sixth consecutive defeat against the title holders. Brasov did well on their previous travel, they’ve picked up three points from the match against Rapid which was played in Bucharest.
The match against Rapid was the first one for new coach Sorin Cartu on Brasov’s bench, but after that fantastic start he couldn’t do anything to avoid two consecutive defeats against Petrolul Ploiesti, one in the league and the other one as I mentioned in the Romanian Cup.
Brasov won’t be able to use striker Paul Batin because he came on-loan from CFR Cluj and the clubs agreed that he can’t play against the team that pays a part of his salary. Coach Sorin Cartu will also need to find replacements for midfielders Munteanu and Madeira, they both have to serve a one match ban.
The Betting Verdict
CFR won all five home games against Brasov since they’ve promoted in Liga 1 (2004) and with Brasov having all these missing players for this fixture, I expect the tradition to continue.
Even though they are not involved in the battle for the top positions in Liga 1, the championship remains an important objective for CFR, so I can’t see them resting players before the CL clash against Galatasaray which will be played on Wednesday.
CFR has a poor home record in Liga 1 this season, they’ve only won two of their six home games, losing their previous match against newly promoted Viitorul Constanta.
Brasov have scored on five of their last six away games in Liga 1, whilst CFR have only kept one clean sheet on their last six home games, against Vaslui (3-0). The home win looks like a safe bet, but if you are looking for value then both teams to score is the way to go at +2.2.
The Pick :
CFR Cluj 2-1 Brasov
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Both teams to score at 2.25 at CoralConfidence: 7/10
