Astra – Slovan Liberec

Astra Giurgiu Slovan Liberec betting previewAstra Giurgiu vs. Slovan Liberec, Europa League 3rd qualifying round, first leg.

Astra Giurgiu is one of the top 3 teams in Romania and for sure they can go and win the title this year. Last year they were 2nd but won the Cup against Steaua and defeated again Steaua this season at penalties in the Supercup. They also won 2-0 in the first round in the league and 4-1 in the League Cup. Astra had a terrific start to the season and they played good football and have a very good squad, after seeing the start of the season in Romania I think they are the main title favorites. Astra is usually an offensive team but they can also play defense against stronger opponents, they proved vs. Steaua (0-0). Main problem for Astra is that they have almost zero European experience … they played last year in Europa League but lost to Maccabi Haifa in the qualifiers (1-1 home, 0-2 away).

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Slovan Liberec is in the shadow of Sparta Prague and Plzen in the Czech Republic, but they are a very good team and proved that last season, going to the KO stages of the Europa league (lost a tight tie with Alkmaar). This season they beat Kosice easily in the previous round of Europa League … 3-0 home, 1-0 away. In the first match in the league they were held to a draw by newly promoted team Ceske Budejovice and 1-1 was a correct score for what happened on the pitch … a disappointing result for Slovan and not very good football from them. The visitors like to play physical football and are very disciplined and organized; but they have problems scoring goals.

Odds on Astra to win are going down but I don’t think it will be an easy game for the hosts. Yes Astra has a very good team but they are unproven in Europe and meet an opponent who made great European performances last year. The two teams have similar quality and Slovan has every chance to knock out Astra if they play their game. Slovan is a very defensive team … last season scored only 37 goals in 30 matches despite finishing 4th … this season they allowed only 1 goal in 3 matches. The visitors will come here to play organized football and I think they will give Astra a great fight. The hosts are playing much more defensive than usual when meeting good opponents so I think it will be a fighting match, with many long balls and interruptions, which means under 2,5 goals is the best tip. Maybe Astra will win but very tight. Correct score prediction: Astra Giurgiu – Slovan Liberec 1-0.

Pick: under 2,5 goals
Odds: 1.8 @ Bet365
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.4
Event date: 31 July

About Ocean

Romania – former junior football player. Football specialist. - EDITOR INFO & STATS

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