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Pandurii Targu Jiu takes on Steaua Bucharest in the Romanian League Cup final to be played at Arena Nationala, Bucharest. Steaua is the home team, but they won`t have too much fan support as their tifos are on strike.
Pandurii is a peculiar team, they can lose to anybody but they can also beat anybody on their day, as proved many times this season (3 wins over Dinamo in 2015, beating Steaua 3-1 in the league). They have very good technical players, pass the ball well, but are prone to upsets when they meet physicall teams that go in guns blazing. All in all Pandurii is in pretty good form, 4 points in the last two matches and they have nothing left to fight for in Liga 1, so this is the match of the season for them. A trophy would be a huge achievement, so the “visitors” will give it their absolute all tonight.
Unlike Pandurii, Steaua has more pressing concernes than the league cup. The reigning Liga 1 Champions blew a 13 point advantage at the top of the table in 2015 and they are now 1 point behind in the title race, with 2 rounds to go. The hosts are coming after a hard fought 3-2 win at Brasov but their form is poor and they lost a lot of points even to the worst sides in Liga 1. There should be some rotation in the squad today, to avoid injuries or / and fatigue.
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Team news: Aside from the usual injuries, each side has one or two big problems coming into the game. Pandurii might miss key defensive midfielder Pintilii, he is doubtful, but he could be forced in the starting lineup. Steaua will definitely miss key winger Tanase and regular keeper Arlauskis. They could also choose to rest a couple of starters.
Obviously Steaua wants this trophy, but the difference in motivation could not be bigger in a Cup final. Pandurii plays one of the biggest matches in their history, while the League Cup is not such an important objective for a big club like Steaua, especially in the current circumstances. It`s unclear to what extent coach Galca will rotate the squad, but surely at least a couple of players will be rested – as the club president himself stated on television. And everytime Steaua rested players, the result was disastrous, as the reserves do not have the same quality as the starting 11.
With a slightly weakened squad, with the focus clearly on the weekend game and in poor form overall, Steaua will most likely struggle today – as they did a lot of times in 2015. Pandurii already proved they can beat Steaua, handing them a 3-1 defeat just a couple of months ago. My tip is a +0,5 handicap on Pandurii. They should at least take this to extra time, but whatever the result will be, the value is clearly on them considering Steaua’s situation. Prediction: Pandurii Targu Jiu – Steaua Bucharest 1-1 (Steaua to win at penalties).
Pick: Pandurii (+0,5 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.93 @ Sbobet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 6.51
Event date: 20 May
you ve bet two times against steaua …u cluj and pandurii and they won each time 3 -0. this is not good man.not good at all. i ve trust your picks,but lately they are destroying me
Don`t forget that I picked Steaua to cover the spread against Chiajna, so it`s even worse. I only nailed the game against Dinamo.
Looking at my pick and the scoreline, it`s a disaster. The money we lost, it`s not good.
But I wrote that Steaua will rest players and they did. They played the B squad. If everybody knew Steaua will play the reserves, I don`t know who would have picked them to win, let alone 3-0.
So, pretty much the story of the last few months. Good information, bad pick. Thank you for following me trough these tough times, hopefully you at least get something good from our tipsters.