ASA Targu Mures will host Saint Etienne in the Europa League third qualifying round. It will be the first match for both teams in the competition this year.
Targu Mures finished second last season in Romania, even if they were a newly promoted team. They were almost crowned Champions and would have won the title if they managed to defeat the last placed team, at home, in the last round – but they collapsed for a 1-2 defeat.
That was about it for Targu Mures, who is a classic Romanian team financed from public money, with a short life span. They are already having big financial problems, are investigated for corruption and are starting to fall appart, with the coach and some players leaving. But at the current moment, Targu Mures is still a strong side and will continue to be so until the winter break at least. They won the Supercup against Steaua and are first in the league after 3 rounds with 7 points. The main strength of the team is its tactical consistency, good defense, good discipline and experience, as they have many old, seasoned players.
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St. Etienne is obviously the better side here, with the legendary club finishing 5th last season. They even challenged for a Top 3 finish, mainly because of their excellent home record and were just two points off in the end. The French side is yet to play an official match this season, with Ligue 1 set to start 10 days from now. They will come to Romania without 3 players.
This will be the first match of the season for St Etienne and it`s well known that they are much stronger at home than away. With this in mind, it looks like it could be a very tricky match for the French side, meeting a very well organized opponent, far away in Romania. I don`t think Targu Mures has the strength to win this, but they know how to break down opponent attacks and can play for the draw very well, so I reckon they will be able to get that – a low scoring draw. St Etienne won`t be too disappointed with such a result in their first match of the season, as they can easily wrap it up at home.
My tip is the draw, well worth a medium stake bet as far as I`m concerned. After all, the French side is prone to such results, as we could see last season both in Ligue 1 (12 draws) and in Europa League (5 draws in 6 group stage matches). Prediction: ASA Targu Mures – St Etienne 0-0.
Pick: Draw
Odds: 3.25 @ Bet365
Stake: 5
Possible profit: 11.25
Event date: 30 July