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Third league side Progresul Spartac will host second division club Universitatea Cluj in the 5th round of the Romanian Cup.
Progresul Spartac finished second in its third division group last year after a great season, but this year this neighborhood side from Bucharest is having massive problems. Progresul has just 1 point from 5 games and is in the relegation zone in Liga 3. Normally they shouldn`t go down (unless financing is withdrawn), but it is clear that the team is struggling big time if they can`t even get some points at the semi amateur level which exists in the Romanian third league.
Universitatea Cluj, one of Romania`s biggest clubs, went bankrupt a few years ago and had to restart from the lowest level. With the help of some great players who came to help the club even if they could have still played even in the top division, U Cluj has quickly climbed back to Liga 2 level and this season the objective is promotion to Liga 1. Cluj is currently 6th in the standings, won 5 of the last 6 games in all competitions, and is coming after an excellent 3-2 win against promotion rivals Petrolul. Cluj won that game easier than the score suggests, leading 3-0 until the 90th minute.
Bet on Progresul Spartac v U Cluj and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet!Team news: Minnows Progresul Spartac will play their best lineup here. Cluj could make some changes, but nevertheless a strong lineup is expected. U Cluj has a great interest in the Cup and fielded a strong lineup in the last round as well, against another Liga 3 club, so they definitely won`t rest too many guys here.
The difference between the two clubs is massive. Progresul Spartac is a tiny neighborhood team in Bucharest with a bunch of no name players, while U Cluj is a massive club with 99 years of history and with many players who have international caps and could easily play in Liga 1.
The visitors will enter this game in excellent form and they are extremely motivated as well. One of the main objectives this season was to advance as far as possible in the Cup and bring some top teams to Cluj. Coach Falub assured the fans that his team will treat this match with full professionalism, and that the players are focused on qualifying.
Considering that Progresul Spartac isn`t even able to win games in the third league this season, it`s highly unlikely they can challenge one of the best sides in Liga 2. Progresul did beat a second league side in the previous round (Metaloglobus), but there is a big difference between a favorite for relegation like Metaloglobus and Universitatea Cluj.
Taking everything into account it seems U Cluj should cruise with no problems here, but there are some facts which work against them. First of all the visitors had a long travel to Bucharest after playing a match just three days ago, so that is far from ideal. Also, Progresul Spartac plays on artificial pitch, so that will be another challenge.
Nevertheless, the difference is just too big here and U Cluj already proved that they are treating the Cup will full focus. As such, they should be able to get a solid victory against this very poor Spartac side, and odds are likely to drop until game time. Cluj really has no business being priced as high as 1.60 here. My tip is U Cluj to win. Prediction: Progresul Spartac – Universitatea Cluj 0-2.
Pick: U Cluj
Odds: 1.59 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4.72
Event date: 26 September
Odds are now 1.7 at 1xbet. I don t really think that it matters that U cluj has a history of 99 years.But i agree with you.u cluj should win these one
Of course that does not matter, I only wrote it to create some context.
I really don`t know why the odds went up, I thought they will go down, maybe it was just natural movement. Maybe because of the things I mentioned like the long travel after playing a match 3 days ago. Cluj fielded a competitive lineup as predicted, so that wasn`t the issue.
So far so good, hopefully there won`t be a shock equalizer late.