Viitorul – Racing

FC Viitorul Constanta from Romania will host Racing Union Luxembourg in the reverse leg of this Europa League first round qualifying clash. The Romanians won the first meeting 2-0 on the road.

FC Viitorul is one of the top teams in Romania, having won the league two seasons ago, and finishing 4th last season. Owned and coached by former Romania great Gheorghe Hagi, Viitorul is a side which relies on young players from their own academy, being by far the top producer of talent in Romanian football. Viitorul got a routine victory last week in Luxembourg, dominating the game and fully deserving their 2-0 win.

Racing Union was outplayed and outmatched in the first leg, and that came as no surprise considering the difference between the two sides. Racing Union is actually not even one of the top teams in Luxembourg, qualifying for Europe this season only for the second time in their history, after winning the Cup last year. In the league, Racing finished 7th last season.

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Team news: Viitorul is expected to rotate the side a bit here, but nevertheless a good lineup is expected, as coach Hagi wants to give his players European experience, and help them gain a winning mentality in Europe as well.

Even if Viitorul has a safe 2-0 lead from the first leg, they still look good value to claim another solid win in the reverse leg.

The gap in quality is undeniable, not just because Romanian football is better than the one in Luxembourg, but because Racing is actually not one of Luxembourg’s best teams. They were in the second league until 2015, and since gaining promotion they never finished higher than 7th.

We know that countries like Luxembourg have improved lately, and teams from these leagues can sometimes create upsets, but that is usually valid for the Tier 1 clubs in those leagues. Racing is no more than a mid table team in Luxembourg, and couldn`t even trouble Viitorul at home. On the road, it will be that much more difficult.

There`s also the added factor of Viitorul being a young team, composed mostly of young and hungry players, who will likely remain motivated to prove themselves despite not needing the win to qualify. With a couple of new 16-17 year old intakes from the youth team likely to get a chance are also sure to play their hearts out, so based on this you would expect Viitorul to treat this match seriously, thus minimizing the risk of an upset.

Backing Viitorul to cover the -1,5 goal handicap looks like a solid choice to me, so that will be my tip on this clash. Prediction: FC Viitorul – Racing Union Luxembourg 3-0.

Pick: Viitorul -1,5
Odds: 1.65 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.20
Event date: 19 July