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Astra Giurgiu and FC Brasov will square off in the Romanian Liga 1 second round, with the hosts as huge favorites according to the odds set by the bookies.
Astra may just be the main favorite for the title this year in Romania, anyway they will surely battle it out with Steaua and probably Petrolul. The Giurgiu side has been the most in form team in the country so far, winning the Supercup against Steaua at penalties, destroying Brasov (today`s opponents) 4-1 on the road in the League Cup, beating Chiajna 2-0 on the road in the first league match and most notably demolishing a strong Slovan Liberec side in the Europa League on Thursday, 3-0. The hosts have a great team and with the Europa League qualification virtually secure, they can focus on today`s match – they can`t afford to lose points as the race for the title will be very tight, Steaua will not lose too many matches this season.
Brasov is in crisis right now. The visitors are having financial problems, lost their best players and are looking like a lock to relegate in the second league at the end of the year. They looked extremely poor in the two matches they played so far – they were demolished by Astra in the League Cup and went on to lose 0-1 at home to Petrolul in the first round of the league, but they were lucky to escape with such a tight result, as Petrolul even missed a penalty.
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Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Team news & lineups:
Astra will most likely field their strongest lineup and new signing Rus from Dinamo Bucharest might make his debut today at right-back. It would be a big plus, as Astra had to use improvisations so far at that position. Brasov will probably make 1 or 2 changes to the team that played in the last round, but they will largely have to use the same players that underperformed, as they have no depth.
Astra Giurgiu: Lung jr. – Rus, Gaman, Oros, Junior Morais – Laban, Yahaya – Enache, Budescu, William – Fatai
FC Brasov: Fl. Iacob – Vagner, Ricardo Machado, Leko, Barna – Bruno Madeira, Aganovic – Grigorie, C. Munteanu, Serginho – Buga
No match is similar to the other, but after Astra wiped the floor with Brasov a couple of weeks ago on the road (while resting 2-3 players as well) I really can’t see how Brasov could challenge the hosts today. The difference in class is just too big here and the same can be said about form. Astra is on a roll, they have an amazing attack and often cover big handicaps, so I think they should be able to get a big win against a Brasov side that is in a really bad spot right now. My tip is Astra to win and cover the 2 goal asian handicap. A 1,5 handicap is safer, but I`m going for the best value here, and there`s no additional risk of losing the bet. Prediction: Astra Giurgiu – FC Brasov 3-0.
Pick: Astra (-2 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.31 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 10.48
Event date: 3 August
