Universitatea Cluj v Gloria Bistrita
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: Municipal stadium, Alba-Iulia
Friday 10th September – Kickoff time: 17:00 GMT+2

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Universitatea Cluj

After an unconvincing start, “U” is now coming after 3 consecutive victories, which places them 7th, two points ahead of their big rivals, CFR Cluj.

“The Red Hats” registered a historical victory last stage, defeating Dinamo in Bucharest scoring an impressive 4 goals in a game that ended 3-4. Claudiu Niculescu, who played for Dinamo in the previous season scored twice and he is also the top-scorer of the team with 4 goals so far.

“U” Cluj took advantage of this short break caused by the international games and signed two players who might prove to be very important for the team. The first one is Alexandru Pacurar, who started his career at “U”, but he played for Steaua until now. The second one is Adrian Pit from AS Roma, who decided to come back home after not being able to convince in Italy, only playing a few games in the last couple of years for AS Roma.

U Cluj last 5 results:

27.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 6 Dinamo 3 - 4 U Cluj
22.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 5 U Cluj 2 - 1 Otelul Galati
14.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 4 Unirea Urziceni 0 - 1 U Cluj
06.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 3 U Cluj 1 - 1 FC Vaslui
01.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 2 FC Brasov 3 - 1 U Cluj

Gloria Bistrita

A club that survives by selling their best players every year is now at the point of making another great business by selling a forward, Ribeiro Moraes which was brought almost free. The clubs interested are Rapid Bucuresti and CFR Cluj and the transfer fee is around 1m euro for the Brazilian striker.

Having this strategy, Gloria Bistrita will never be a team that could fight for a European spot but they are one of the few teams that are probably making profit from football. They managed to launch some young players that were later sold for impressive fees, like Laszlo Sepsi who signed with Benfica in 2008 for 2.5m euro.

This year their objective is to finish in the top half of the table and they are not looking bad at the moment, having 8 points from 6 games which places them 8th. They only won 1 point in away games against FC Timisoara, losing the other two to Rapid Bucuresti and Sportul Studentesc with a two goal difference.

Gloria Bistrita last 5 results:

30.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 6 Gloria Bistrita 3 - 1 FCM Târgu-Mureş
20.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 5 Rapid 2 - 0 Gloria Bistrita
13.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 4 Gloria Bistrita 3 - 0 Pandurii Tg. Jiu
09.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 3 Sportul Studentesc 4 - 2 Gloria Bistrita
31.07.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 2 Gloria Bistrita 1 - 1 Astra Ploiesti

The Betting Verdict :

Gloria Bistrita have not won against U Cluj in an away game for more than 15 years. The last two games between them ended in draws, but U Cluj looks better at this moment, having signed some experimented players in the summer that are now helping them to deliver some positive results.

Winning 3 games in a row should release the pressure for the moment for the hosts who can build on with their game improving from match to match.

Gloria on the other hand looked very comfortable at home, they have a 2-1-0 record so far but the away games are the one that put them in major difficulty, conceding at least two goals in every game played on the road.

I think U Cluj are slightly better at this moment and having the home advantage they should make it to 4 victories in a row.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Universitatea Cluj to win at 2.23 Pinnacle Sports
Confidence: 7/10