Betdistrict.com
The last quarterfinal of the Romanian Cup will see Liga 1 Champions take on relegation battlers Otelul at Ghencea stadium. The match is played over a single leg. I`ll try to keep the preview more concise than usual ’cause it`s a late pick, but I will try to cover every aspect of the game.
Steaua is the best team in Romania in the last year and a half, hands down. They did lose a bit of momentul this year due to the sales of key players Rusescu and Chiriches, combined with some fatigue, but they are still at least one level above the vast majority of teams in Romania. Steaua is going through a rough patch lately, with 5 consecutive draws, BUT: 2 of those draws were in Champions League at Schalke and vs. Basel, which were actually great results. They drew with Corona Brasov (poor team, but Steaua fielded the reserves), at Pandurii (good team, Europa League group stage participants) and Petrolul (2nd or 3rd best team in Romania). So, looking closer, one can not say that Steaua is in poor form.
Otelul is in crisis right now. After winning the league just a couple of years ago, the team steadily declined and is in a bad spot at the moment, on 15th place in the league with 3 consecutive losses. There are serious financial problems at the club, the players are not paid, so the last thing on Otelul`s ming right now is the Cup – especially since they know they have little chances to upset Steaua, and the best teams in the league qualified to the semis, so they really are huge outsiders in the competition. Otelul is thinking more about avoiding relegation, getting out of the crisis in the league and, of course, solving the financial difficulties. The players want to get paid.
 |
Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Team news & lineups
Steaua will rest a couple of players for today, but no more than 3-4 regulars. Most notable is captain Bourceanu. The hosts will field a very strong team:
Steaua: Tătăruşanu (Cojocaru) – Georgievski, Varela, Szukala, Pîrvulescu – Prepeliţă, Neagu – Chipciu (Popa), Iancu, Ad. Cristea – Nikolici
Oţelul: Brăneţ – Milea, Sîrghi, Sipovici, Gavrilă – Iorga, Filip, Marquinhos – Cooper, Henrique, Băjenaru
Steaua got knocked out of the cup last year due to playing with the reserves, and this year coach Reghecampf stated that he badly wants to win the competition. He has made little experiments so far in the Cup and will continue to take few risks, playing with a strong lineup.
The H2H between these two at Ghencea Stadium is overwhelming in favor of Steaua, who won the last 7 games played (the winning streak is probably longer, but it`s not worth looking to deep in history).
Steaua is motivated for this competition, the team has a point to prove after the recent drawing-run and press criticism. Otelul is in all kinds of trouble and is by far the worst team. Expect the hosts to dominate possesion, put constant pressure on the visitors and in the end get a solid win. Steaua has pretty much all the arguments to cover a 1 goal handicap. They will probably play with a very poor and out of form striker at front (Nikolici), but that`s about the only counter-argument for the handicap and I do not feel it is enough. My tip is Steaua Bucharest – Otelul Galati 3-0.
Pick: Steaua Bucharest (-1,5)
Odds: 1.88 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.04
Event date: 5 December
Editor Facts
- Rostick won his last 7 tips in the Romanian Cup and Romanian Liga 1
- Rostick won all of his 4 tips in the Romanian Cup this season
