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The biggest derby in Romanian football will see Dinamo Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest square off in the first leg of the Romanian Cup semifinals, at Dinamo Stadium, with the two clubs set to play the first of two consecutive matches between each other – as the rivalry will see another episode on Sunday, in the league.
Dinamo is the most in form team in Romania right now, sitting on the second place in the league and riding an impressive run of 8 wins and 3 draws in the last 11 matches in all competitions. The Red Dogs are on the back of a 1-1 road draw against first placed Astra, a solid result considering the fact that Dinamo had a player sent off in the 40th minutes. After a few years of mediocrity, Dinamo has finally risen back to the top, mostly thanks to financial restructuring and manager Mircea Rednic, who created a very solid side with free agents.
After selling a lot of players and hiring a new manager in 2015, Steaua struggled big time in the first part of the season. Lately the visitors made some changes, bringing back the old manager Reghencampf and signing a number of big name players in the Winter break, but results were not according to expectations. Steaua was poor in the first three matches of 2015, claiming just 4 points against three poor sides and coming after a 1-1 home draw against CSMS Iasi. Currently 5th in the league, the visitors consider the Romanian Cup as a secondary competition and the manager said that he will rotate the squad a bit, despite this being a massive derby. However, it`s hard to believe that he will actually do it, except for the players with fitness problems.
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Team news & lineups:
Both teams might miss a number of important players. Dinamo will be without Filip, while Essombe, Anton and Ekeng are questionable. Steaua will miss Bawab, but will likely make a couple of changes in the squad as well, as the Winter signings still have fitness issues and don`t seem ready to play 3 times in the space of 1 week. Some will be rested for the league game on Sunday.
Dinamo Bucharest: Cerniauskas – Hanca, Puljic, Mevlja, Olteanu – Anton, Nedelcearu – Rotariu, Palic, Bartalsstovu – Gnohere
Steaua Bucharest: Nita – Papp, Tamas, Varela, Tosca – Gebhardt, Muniru – Popa, Stanciu, Chipciu – Marica
The two teams already met twice this season, a 0-0 draw at Steaua, followed by a 3-1 home win by Dinamo. Before the last match, Steaua was riding a 12 match unbeaten streak against Dinamo in the derby. Both teams seem to be better now than they were in the last meeting (when Steaua was also missing some key players).
The odds are just wrong here. Nobody sees Steaua as a favorite today and they really are not the favorites, especially at Dinamo Stadium, where they always had a tough time. Steaua’s run of wins and draws came when the derby was played at the National Stadium, which is now inaccessible. This is an evenly matched clash and you have to feel that the circumstances favor Dinamo to win it. It`s no surprise that the odds on a Dinamo win are dropping.
The visitors might have a bit more sheer quality in their ranks, but their stars are old, out of form and / or not completely fit. Dinamo is riding a wave of confidence right now, they are playing good football and have not lost a match since the 2nd of November, friendly games included! Dinamo has been the better team this season and is the better team at the moment, so there is no reason for them to be considered underdogs at home.
Expect a close and tight encounter, with neither team taking too many risks – as it is a first leg counting for a Cup semifinal. Dinamo should be able to edge it at home or, at the very least, settle for a draw. My tip is Dinamo Bucharest to win with a +0 asian handicap (draw no bet). Odds are truly excellent. Prediction: Dinamo Bucharest – Steaua Bucharest 1-0.
I don`t think I`m under any obligation to say this, but you might deserve to know that I am a Dinamo Bucharest fan. I don`t think any of our readers can question my objectivity, but of course you can each choose to interpret this the way you want.
Pick: Dinamo Buc (+0 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.30 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 10.40
Event date: 3 March
