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ASA Targu Mures and Pandurii Targu Jiu will square off in the first round of the Romania Liga 1 playoffs, with both teams being outsiders in the fight for the title. ASA is on the 6th place, 10 points behind leaders Astra, while Pandurii is 3rd, 5 points behind the leaders – but both teams have a game in hand, this one.
ASA barely managed to reach the playoffs in the last round of the regular season, as they have been far from impressive since the Winter break ended. The hosts were always a super defensive team, but scoring 1 goal in 4 matches (all competitions) after the Winter break was pathetic even for them. Coach Grigoras was sacked a few weeks ago after just two games in charge and former superstar Adrian Mutu took over as player – manager, but the team is playing the exact same way.
Pandurii is in a good position on paper and they are on the back of an impressive 3-1 road win against Viitorul, but the team is in danger of disappearing after their main sponsor withdrew financing a few weeks ago. With virtually half of the budget gone, the visitors are in a precarious state. Needless to say, morale is rather low and it might well impact Pandurii’s performances for the rest of the season. The bright side is that Pandurii has 3 wins and 1 draw in 4 matches since the Winter break ended.
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Team news & lineups:
Adrian Mutu played just 30 minutes since he took over as “incognito” manager two rounds ago, but he might decide to start today. Balic and Muresan are out for ASA, while N’Doye and Velayos are doubtful. Pandurii will miss Ungurusan, Droppa and playmaker Radut.
ASA Târgu Mureş: Stăncioiu – Matei, Constantin, González, Pârvulescu – Gorobsov, Brandán – Jazvić, Mutu, Costa – Ţucudean
Pandurii Târgu Jiu: Stanca – Fernandes, Săpunaru, Vasiljević, Acsinte – Mrzljak, Ropotan – Antal, Nistor, Nicoară – Hora
Targu Mures played 4 matches so far after the Winter break: 0-1, 0-1, 1-0 and 0-0. This is the most defensive team you will find in the country (best defense in the league), scoring 27 goals and conceding 21 in 26 rounds so far. An average of just 1,84 goals / game is scored in their matches. Their last 10 matches finished with under 2,5 goals.
Pandurii is definitely a more offensive side, but goals aren`t flowing in their matches either – an average of 2,34 goals / game is scored in their matches. Now they also have financial problems and their performances are expected to drop. Radut’s absence will also make them less dangerous upfront, as he is the mastermind of their whole offensive setup.
This is a crucial game, as most will be in these playoffs, so a very careful approach is expected by both sides. With ASA as hosts, they should be able to impose their slow, boring rhythm and guide this game towards a 0-0 or 1-0 result. The two teams met just one month ago and it was one of the ugliest matches you will ever see, with Pandurii claiming a 1-0 win via a funny penalty. Earlier in the season, Pandurii won 2-0.
The under seems like a lock here and only an illogical turn of events could ruin this bet. My tip is under 2,5 goals. Prediction: ASA Targu Mures – Pandurii Targu Jiu 1-0.
Pick: under 2,5 goals
Odds: 1.70 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.60
Event date: 7 March
