Betdistrict.com
The Romanian Liga 1 has yet to re-start officially, but Steaua Bucharest had 2 games in hand and needs to play them before the second part of the season starts. They already defeated Concordia Chiajna 4-0 on Friday and have an even easier game today, on paper, against Universitatea Cluj at Ghencea Stadium.
Steaua is currently tied with Astra for the first place and could get ahead by winning today, so there`s everything to play for for the Liga 1 champions. Steaua lost a step compared to last season, also losing a couple of players – the last one being captain Bourceanu (to Trabzonspor) – but they are still a very solid side in Romania. Steaua also brought in a couple of quality players like Keseru (Bastia) or Sanmartean (Vaslui) and the team looked pretty good a few days ago against Chiajna, despite that match largely being considered to be fixed. It was a huge upgrade from the preparation period, where Steaua was just horrible in friendlies – however, off-season friendlies are really not an indicative of a team`s strength or even form. Steaua is undefeated in the Liga 1 season so far (12-6-0) and at home has been really impressive with 7 wins and 1 draw, 25-3 goal difference.
Universitatea Cluj is currently on the second to last place in the standings, struggling to survive in the division. The team had big financial problems in the first part of the season but it seems that things are better now. They finished 2013 playing decent football and now the roster has been revamped, with the visitors potentially fielding 5 new-signings in the first eleven. It could be a problem though, as the team chemistry will surely suffer and you don`t want to be tactically vulnerable against Steaua.
 |
Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Team news & lineups
There are no serious injuries or suspensions for either side, so both Steaua and U Cluj will be able to field their best respective first 11. Latovlevic will probably not start for the hosts, while Cluj has Machado doubtful, but he should play.
Steaua: Tatarusanu – Parvulescu, Szukala, Gardos, Varela – Stanciu, Pintilii – Tanase, Sanmartean, Chipciu – Piovaccari
U Cluj: Veselovsky – Ciupe, Abrudan, Rada, Gercaliu – Bucsa, Cristocea – Boutadjine, Machado, M. Nicu – Lemnaru
There is a big difference in quality between these two sides and I can see Steaua to win easily here. The hosts have big influence in Romania so, like the match against Chiajna, this one is also suspected of being fixed for the hosts to win, but I honestly doubt it – there`s just no need for that. But if it will be, it`s good for our bet anyway. Steaua won 9 of their last 10 home games in the Romanian Liga 1 and Romanian Cup by at least two goals and there really is no reason for a poor Cluj side to break that trend. Last year Steaua won the home game against Cluj 5-1. The small teams in Liga 1 are giving just too much respect to Steaua and Cluj`s coach Mihai Teja made no exception, basically stating that his team will “try to play football and see what happens”. Expect another big win for Steaua at home after a game controled by the hosts for the whole 90 minuts. We should see a lot of constant pressure on Cluj`s goal and the goals will surely come.
My tip is Steaua -1,75 asian handicap at some very tasty odds. Between the quality difference, Steaua`s fantastic form at home and ability to cover handicaps, Cluj`s poor chemistry, fixed match suspicions and Cluj`s obvious humility coming into this game, it`s hard to look past a big home win here. Given the security of this bet and also the excellent odds we are getting, I will approach this pick with maximum stakes. Prediction: Steaua Bucharest – “U” Cluj 3-0.
Pick: Steaua (-1,75 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.83 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 8.30
Event date: 18 February
