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Romanian Liga 1 football this Saturday, with champions Steaua taking on vice-champions ASA Targu Mures in the 7th round. However, much has changed since last season.
Steaua is going trough its most difficult moment in the last 4 years. The team lost quality, has a horrible coach, fans have totally deserted the side and recent results are extremely poor. Steaua is coming after a 2-4 defeat at Partizan, which meant elimination from the Champions League, followed by a 0-0 home draw against arch rivals Dinamo and a 0-2 defeat at Astra. Everything looks bleak, but it`s not really so bad. The main reasons for Steaua’s recent results involve bad luck, refereeing and poor coaching.
Indeed, Steaua has a rookie coach, Mirel Radoi, who is making a fun of himself and was brought here just because he`s the godson of the owner. But Steaua still has the best “pound for pound” squad in Romania. They played well against Partizan but lost direction after a player was sent off early in the second half. They should have won against Dinamo, Dinamo dominated in the stands despite playing away from home but Steaua played the better football and had many more chances. Lastly, Steaua was robbed by the referees big-time against Astra. Now this is really a must win game for them.
ASA Targu Mures started the season strong, beating Steaua in the Romanian Supercup. It was the 3rd consecutive win for Targu Mures against Steaua (all 1-0) and the visitors continued with good results for a couple of weeks, but everything fell apart recently and it was somewhat expected. Targu Mures is struggling with finances and allegations of corruption, so the team they put together in the summer is guaranteed to break in a few months. Nobody is really happy, the talent is not that great either and ASA TG Mures won just 1 of the last 5 matches. It was a fluke 2-1 win at St Etienne in the Europa League after a 0-3 defeat at home. In the last two matches, Targu Mures lost 1-0 to Viitorul (mid table side) and finished 0-0 at home with ACS Recas (one of the worst 2 sides in the league).
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Team news & lineups:
Steaua is healthy and might get back key midfielder Stanciu, probably from the bench. Varela is doubtful and he might be rested. Kortzorg is out for ASA Targu Mures, while Axente is doubtful.
Steaua Bucuresti: Cojocaru – Rapa, Papp, Toșca, Guilherme – Breeveld, Muniru – Ad. Popa, Hamroun, Chipciu – Tadé (Tudorie)
ASA Tg Mures: Stăncioiu – Golański, González, Bejan, Balić – Mureşan, Gorobsov – Luís Pedro, Brandán, Jazvić – Axente
Steaua has a big game coming up next week against Rosenborg in Europa League, but they really need the three points here and will very likely field the best lineup, maybe just a couple of tweaks here and there – probably captain Varela, will be rested as he has a recurrent injury and it`s probably not worth the risk to start him. The hosts did not play so bad lately but simply got the short end of the stick, they did had some bad luck. They have much more quality than the visitors, play better football and considering all the problems at ASA, including their poor form, Steaua should finally get a win here.
My tip is Steaua Bucharest to win and I am going with reasonably high stakes on this bet. Right now odds are dropping big time on a Steaua win, but I expect further up and down movement throughout the day. Under 2,5 goals could also be a good choice, but at lower odds. Prediction: Steaua Bucharest – ASA Targu Mures 2-0.
Pick: Steaua
Odds: 1.83 @ Smart Live Sports
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.64
Event date: 15 August
