Astra – Viktoria Plzen

Astra Giurgiu and Viktoria Plzen square off in the Europa League, with the two teams being on the last two places in Group E.

Astra is having a dreadful season after winning the Romanian League last season. They lost a number of key players and struggled with financial problems, to the point where the team simply seemed disinterested in playing. As a result, Astra is on the 10th place in Romania, but they managed to produced a couple of shocks in Europe. They knocked out West Ham in the playoffs before getting embarrased by Austria Wien and Roma, but bounced back with a very surprising win away at Plzen last round.

Viktoria Plzen has two points in this group after drawing with Austria Wien and Roma, before being upset at home by Astra. The Czech side is having a very good season, leading the league with a single loss in 12 games and coming after two solid victories against Sparta Prague and Dukla Prague. The loss against Astra in the last Europa League round was unexpected and Plzen will need to take revenge if they want to hope for qualification.

Team news: The big news ahead of this match is that Astra will miss its best player and top scorer, Alibec. This will be a huge problem for Astra, as Alibec is a one man show for this team and he was also decisive in the win at Plzen. Astra’s manager admitted himself that his entire gameplan is based on Alibec and they are not the same team without him. Astra’s squad is incredibly thin and they don`t have anybody who can replace their main guy.

I backed Plzen to beat Astra at home and in all honesty it was probably a mistake, as the odds were very low and Plzen are no world beaters. However, they are definitely a better team than this Astra side that continues to be in crisis. Astra was totally outplayed by Dinamo Bucharest in their last match a few days ago, snatching a 2-2 draw only due to huge luck and incredible refereeing mistakes.

I like Plzen’s chances in this match even more than at home, considering that the odds are really good this time. Both teams need to win so Astra will need to open up more than they did in the Czech Republic. A better organized Plzen team, with more quality and more confidence should take advantage of that. Astra also does not have much home court advantage, as they have no fans and play their European matches in Bucharest. Expect the stands to be virtually empty, with a few thousand people at most and no atmosphere.

My tip is Plzen to win with a +0 asian handicap, taking insurance in case of a draw. Prediction: Astra Giurgiu – Viktoria Plzen 1-2.

Pick: Viktoria Plzen (+0 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.60 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4.80
Event date: 3 November