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League leaders Astra Giurgiu will take on minnows Viitorul Constanta in an attempt to stay clear of Steaua Bucharest at the top of the table. Round 18 in the Romanian Liga 1.
Astra is currently on the 1st place in the league, 6 points ahead of Steaua Bucharest, but also having two extra-matches played. Petrolul is 4 points behind Astra, but they have 1 extra match played compared to them, and 3 compared to Steaua. A win against lowly Viitorul would be excellent for the hosts, especially with Steaua having a tough away game later in the day. Astra has been brilliant so far this season and the team looks to be good value to claim their first title in history, posting some insane statistics so far in the league: 12 wins, 2 losses, 2 draws, 41-15 goal difference. Astra is 6-1-1 at home and is in devastating form at the moment, with 7 consecutive wins in all competitions and 5 in the Liga 1.
Viitorul is on the 16th place right now and the visitors are big favorites to get relegated at the end of the season. Viitorul barely escaped relegation last season thanks to some very dubious matches in the last few rounds, and back then they had a much, much better team. The constanta side lost all their best players in the summer break and had to basically revamp the whole first 11, but they did not bring in decent replacements, focusing more on guys from the youth academy. The results are as expected, very bad. Viitorul is in some decent form in the last two League games, with 1 win and 1 draw, but prior to that they had three consecutive defeats. Their statistics on the road are 0 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses, with 3 goals scored and 19 goals conceded.
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There are no notable injury worries that could have an impact on the game. The pitch will not be in the best of conditions and the temperature will be pretty low come game-time.
The two teams met twice this season, as Astra simply demolished Viitorul 4-0 and 3-0, both times on the road, posting some overwhelmingly superior statistics. The last direct meeting was just 11 days ago, when Astra defeated their opponents 3-0 away in the Romanian Cup, even playing with 2-3 reserves in the first 11.
The difference in quality is huge here, and with Astra`s devastating form and motivation there is no reason to expect anything else than another big win from them against Viitorul – except maybe the cold weather and frozen pitch. The H2H this season has shown a clear match-up disadvantage, Astra could have even added to the 7-0 aggregate. I will go with a 2 goal handicap on the hosts today, as they are the most offensive team in Romania, scoring in bunches and often covering big spreads. Can`t see poor Viitorul taking anything from this match, and after 4 points in the last 2 rounds they won`t even be too dishearted by an expeced loss here. I will bet on Astra to cover the 2,5 handicap at some excellent odds. While you can never expect this kind of spread to be easily covered, as the hosts would obviously be happy if it ends up 2-0, there is at least a big possibility, if not probability, for Astra to record another blowout against Viitorul with 3-4 goals difference. Aside for the usual surprise-factor in football, the facts are obvious and we only have to hope for the hosts to not miss too many chances. My pick for this match is Astra Giurgiu – Viitorul Constanta 4-0.
Pick: Astra Giurgiu (-2,5)
Odds: 2.67 @ Bet365
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 13.36
Event date: 14 December
Editor Facts
- Rostick is 1 for 1 in picks involving Astra Giurgiu this season
- Rostick is 3 for 4 in picks involving Viitorul Constanta this season
