Betdistrict.com
Concordia Chiajna and Dinamo Bucharest will battle it out for a place in the League Cup quarterfinals, a competition that makes its debut this year and does not have a massive importance. Concordia will host the game, but the small stadium is in Bucharest’s vicinity and will be packed with visiting supporters.
Chiajna has a decent squad, they did well to avoid relegation last season and should be able to stay up this season as well. They have a decent coach in Marius Sumudica, a rather offensive-minded manager, and he said he is extremely optimistic and happy about how his team looks this year and what they can do. The hosts made a couple of transfers in the summer and will look to see what the new players can do today.
Dinamo’s 4th place finish last season was considered a bit of an overachievement, as the legendary Romanian club is struggling big-time with finances right now and the squad is mostly composed of young players along with some foreign footballers of medium quality. They sold a couple of key players in the summer, including the 2 best center backs (Grigore, Tchicot) without bringing in any replacements, so I doubt the club has any chance of finishing Top 3 this year, a 5th or 6th placement looks like a more realistic scenario. Dinamo relied on a very good defense last season and Stoican is a defensive coach, but it remains to be seen if they can keep up the same defensive intensity after losing their 2 best players at the back.
 |
Wide markets and in-play betting coverage. Get 100% first deposit bonus (25£) by registering at Winner.com now! |
Team news & lineups
Big problems for Dinamo, after losing Grigore and Thicot they will also miss their backup center back from last season Durimel (and best CB for this season) and the newly signed cover center back Cordos, which means Stoican will have to play Popa and Ionita at the back – two players that would have normally been the 5th and 6h option on this position. Popa is proved to be a mug, while Ionita is an ex Dinamo youth player who never really proved himself in the last couple of years while on loan. Also, regular keeper Balgradean will probably not play and regular left-back Filip is out, so the Red Dogs will have an improvised defense today. The only absentee in offense is key attacking midfielder Matei. Regarding Chiajna, it`s hard to say how their lineup will look today, as they made a lot of transfers, bringing in a bunch of foreign players. I prefer to avoid predicting a possible first 11 for the hosts.
Dinamo Bucharest: Tr. Marc – Rus, Ad. Popa II, M. Ioniţă, Grecu – Bărboianu, Boubacar, Elton – V. Lazăr, Bilinski, D. Rotariu
Normally I would pick this type of game in Romania to finish with under 2,5 goals, but this time there are special circumstances and considering the odds I think it is wise to do the exact opposite and back the over. Firstly, Dinamo will field a very poor defensive lineup, probably the worst center-back pairing (Popa, Ionita) in the club’s history, 2 players that never played together before. I expect some tactical chaos in that area in the first official game of the season, especially with a new keeper in goal. The attacking setup of Dinamo looks way better than their defensive lineup ahead of this game. Concordia is not a team that likes to park the bus, Sumudica is a rather offensive minded coach, so I think they will try and benefit from Dinamo`s struggles and win this. They have a couple of very skilled attacking players that can hurt this Dinamo defense. Not lastly, the two direct meetings last year both finished with at least 3 goals, Dinamo winning 2-1 at home and 3-1 away. We should also note that it`s the first official game for both teams in a competition without too much stature, so this will make the game more open, we should see some defensive errors and less tactical rigor by the managers. My tip is over 2,5 goals, a bet which really should not have such high odds. Regarding the winner, I think Dinamo might just edge this, but no way am I betting on the Red Dogs at @ 1.65. Prediction: Concordia Chiajna – Dinamo Bucharest 1-3.
Pick: over 2,5
Odds: 2.62 @ William Hill
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 11.34
Event date: 21 July
