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Fifth place Dinamo will meet relegation strugglers ACS Poli Timisoara (12th place) at the Stefan Cel Mare Stadium in the Romanian Liga 1 18th round. The hosts will try to capitalize on their good form and get a 4th consecutive win in the second to last game of the year in the league. Timisoara won 2-0 at home against Dinamo in the first Liga 1 round.
Dinamo is currently in a rebuilding process, changing ownership over the summer break and implementing a long term financial plan to bring back the team to its glory years. Thanks to a squad changed almost entirely compared to the last years, and due to lack of chemistry and experience (a lot of young players), Dinamo started the season in very poor fashion. However, after youth team coach Flavius Stoican took helm instead of former manager Multescu, the Red Dogs have improved and at the moment are on a great run of 4 consecutive wins in all competitions (and 8 in the last 9 matches).
Dinamo has been particularly impressive in the defensive sector since Stoican took charge, especially in the last 4 games, all of them won with the same scoreline: 1-0. In the first three of those wins, Dinamo basically did not allow a single goal chance to their opponents. Last round lowly Botosani had some chances, but again it was a solid defensive effort from the Red Dogs. Coach Stoican said that he`d like the team to score more, and that goals will come, but for the moment is is focused on getting wins until the first part of the season ends. Another strong point for Dinamo has been their effort at home, where they lost only once in all competitions this season, back in August, 1-2 against strong Steaua. Dinamo`s home record this season in the league and cup combined is 9-2-1.
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ACS Poli Timisoara is a newly promoted team. A relegation candidate, they are currently on 12th place and will probably avoid the drop as they are an almost decent side, surely better than at least 3-4 woeful sides currently in the Liga 1. However, after a solid start, the Timisoara team faded away recently and they are on a run of three consecutive league defeats at the moment. The visitors are one of the more defensive sides in the league scoring 16 times and conceding 20 goals in 17 rounds so far. 9 of their 16 goals were scored by Szekely, a low-level striker that simply caught fire in the first few rounds but then started scoring way less often.
Team news: Aside for the long term injuries of defenders Grecu, Collins Fai and Durimel, Dinamo will miss two key offensive midfielders for this game, Matei and Lazar, along with defensive midfielder Elton. The team news for the visitors pretty much suggest a clean bill of health with the exception of key midfielder Ovidiu Petre, injured. The hosts might start with the following first 11.
Dinamo: Bălgrădean – Rus, Luchin, Grigore, Filip – Thicot, Boubacar – Rotariu, C. Munteanu, Curtean – Ţucudean
Dinamo is defending almost perfectly at the momment, but their offensive play is extremely poor. Probably the main reason is the lack of a decent striker, as Tucudean (arguably the only Liga 1 – level option) is of poor quality and also in bad form. The 3-man line behind him is pretty good, but all those guys are horrible when it comes to finishing. The fact that Matei, Lazar and even defensive midfielder Elton (best passer on the team) will miss will be a blow for Dinamo`s already shaky offense.
Watching all of Dinamo`s recent games, I can say without a doubt that this match has under 2,5 goals written all over it, and I`m very surprised that the odds are not in the 1.50 region. Timisoara is a decent and defensive team, Dinamo will have big problems breaking them down, as they had last round against a much worse Botosani side. On the other hand Timisoara is very poor in attack, Szekely is not in top form anymore and I can`t see them troubling Dinamo-s rock solid defense, especially not in Bucharest. Expect Dinamo to keep possession and struggle a lot to find spaces in Timisoara`s back line, while the visitors will try some shy counters, but with slim chances to create chances. Note that the pitch will be frozen tonight, and the weather will be very cold, so all the more reasons for a low scoring game. Stoican stated that he would be delighted with another 1-0 win, so I highly doubt we can expect anything more here. 0-0 and 1-0 are the most likely results. My pick is under 2,5 goals with maximum stakes at some excellent odds. Dinamo Bucharest – ACS Poli Timisoara 1-0.
As always in picks involving Dinamo, I feel obliged to say that I am a fan of this team, so you can draw your own conclusions – despite the fact that I consider my objectivity being beyond reasonable doubt.
Pick: under 2,5 goals
Odds: 1.82 @ Unibet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 8.20
Event date: 13 December
Editor Facts
- Rostick won 8 of his last 9 tips in the Romanian Liga 1 and Romanian Cup
- Rostick is 4 for 7 in picks involving Dinamo Bucharest this season
