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FC Red Bull Salzburg will square off against FC Viitorul Constanta in the Europa League playoffs second leg, with the home side being virtually qualified after winning the first leg 3-1 in Romania.
Salzburg is yet to lose a match this season, posting 8 wins and 3 draws in 11 games in all competitions, also winning the last 4 matches they played in. However, Salzburg was eliminated by Rijeka in the Champions League qualifiers (1-1, 0-0), so they dropped to the Europa League to play against Viitorul. The Austrians dominated the first leg and their 3-1 victory was fully deserved, as they could have scored even more.
Viitorul won a tight championship in Romania last season and started this year with a great 1-0 home victory against APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League qualifiers – but since then, everything went downhill. Viitorul lost the second leg against APOEL 0-4 and showed some very poor football in the Romanian league, where they have just 5 points in 7 matches. The visitors have 2 draws and 5 losses in their last 7 matches and just sold 3 of their best players last week.
Bet on Salzburg vs Viitorul and claim your 100% (100 Eur) freebet at Ohmbet now!Team news: Stangl, Tetteh, Atanga, Minamino will be out for Salzburg, while Miranda and Hwang are doubtful. Viitorul hasn`t released reports about new injuries and suspensions. Both teams are expected to field strong lineups despite the first leg result.
Viitorul is in total disarray, they haven`t won any of their last 7 games and there is already talk about them fighting for relegation this season. They have just sold arguably their 3 best players last week and liquidated their youth team, so that tells you all you need to know about the state of affairs at the club.
Salzburg might not be as good as in the last years, but they are still a very good team and miles better than Viitorul, which was dead obvious in the first leg. The question here is how much will Salzburg push since their qualification is virtually secured.
Coach Marco Rose insisted that his team will not treat Viitorul lightly, and that qualification is not yet certain. He also stated that Salzburg will not try to protect the first leg advantage, but will play its own style of football – which is known to be offensive oriented and high scoring. Key player Valon Berisha supported his manager’s words.
Obviously statements like the above are common in football and can`t be taken literally, but at the very least it means that Salzburg will treat the game seriously and will field a strong lineup.
Viitorul is in total chaos right now and if Salzburg approaches the game in a positive manner, playing their usual brand of attacking football, they should create plenty of chances here.
My tip is Salzburg to win with a 1,25 asian handicap. At the very least they should win by 1 goal, which will give us half of the stakes back, but I believe their offensive strength coupled with Viitorul being dirt poor will grant Salzburg a win by 2 or more goals. Prediction: Salzburg – Viitorul 3-0.
Pick: Salzburg (-1,25 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.51 @ 18Bet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4.08
Event date: 24 August
