Steaua – Aalborg

Steaua Bucharest and Aalborg will square off in the first matchday of Europa League Group J, which also consists of Dinamo Kiev and Rio Ave.

Steaua is on the back of a 3-1 home win against Gaz Metan Medias, after previously playing 3 of the worst matches I have seen Steaua play in the last 3 years. The hosts were clearly shaken by losing to Ludogorets in the Champions League playoffs (via penalties) and had 2 horrible matches in the league as well. The success against a mediocre Gaz Metan side is not so relevant, so it remains to be seen how Steaua will perform in a real test, like this one against Aalborg. The Romanians are a good side but have lost a lot of strength compared to the previous seasons, on the other had they signed a couple of players recently that could improve their level.

Aalborg had a very poor season so far, with two exceptions: the reverse leg against Dinamo Zagreb in the UCL qualifiers, winning 2-0 away after losing 1-0 at home and the 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen over the weekend. However, both results were rather lucky, especially the one against Dinamo Zagreb where Aalborg was totally dominated but somehow escaped with a win. Elsewhere, the Danish side was soundly beaten by APOEL in the UCL playoffs and is on the 5th place in Denmark after 7 rounds, winning just two games.

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Lineups

Both teams are relatively healthy, injuries and suspensions should have little to no impact on this match.

Steaua: Arlauskis – Rapa, Varela, Szukala, Latovlevici – Breeveld, Sanmartean – Popa, Rusescu, Chipciu – Keseru

Aalborg: Larsen – Dalsgaard, Thelander, Petersen, Gorter – Borsting, Risgaard, Wurtz, Thomsen – Helenius, Jacobsen

Neither team is looking too impressive right now, both lost some of their best players in the transfer window but also bought some decent replacements. All in all, Steaua is the better team and has played better football this season. Aalborg is struggling big time after winning the league last year and I reckon they are a clear underdog tonight. Steaua is known as an excellent home team both in Romania and in Europe, so I will pick the Romanians to win but I also believe they can keep a clean sheet. With both sides struggling, they are not really too sharp in offense, and Steaua knows their best chance of winning a tight game is not to concede. The Romanians are decent at the back while Aalborg barely scores 1 goal per game even in the poor Danish League, so in these circumstances my tip will be Steaua to win to nil. I`m not sure if a simple Steaua win is worth it at the current odds, but it could be played in a small stake combo bet. Prediction: Steaua Bucharest – Aalborg 1-0.

Pick: Steaua to win to nil
Odds: 2.40 @ Winner
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 9.8
Event date: 18 September