CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BETTING PICK - CFR CLUJ V BAYERN MUNCHEN

Champions League

2010-11-03 - CFR Cluj vs Bayern Munchen

A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt

Bayern Munchen v CFR Cluj
Football: UEFA Champions League : Group stage
Venue: "Dr. Constantin Radulescu" stadium, Cluj
Wednesday 3rd November – Kickoff time: 21:45 GMT+2

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CFR Cluj (3rd W1 D0 L2)

CFR won their opening home game against FC Basel but failed to build on that result as they were defeated on their travels to Rome and Munich.

With three teams having the same number of points and CFR hosting Bayern and Roma, theoretically they still have chances to progress but this game has a huge importance for them, not so much for their visitors.

CFR showed a decent football in all three games, they rose to the level of the competition but the lack of experience and maybe luck denied them having more points. Their situation in the domestic league however is far from being decent, they are in 10th position, 13 points behind leader Otelul Galati.

The good news for coach Sorin Cartu is that central-midfielder Gabriel Muresan and striker Roberto De Zerbi are fit to play after recovering from injuries. I would say that the reason behind all those goals CFR conceded lately was Gabriel Muresan, his absence more exactly. He is the player that makes the dirty work at CFR, recovering many balls and putting a lot of effort.

CFR played 7 games at home in the group stages of a European competition (UCL in 2008/2009 and EL in 2009/2010) and has a 2-1-4 record, with victories against FK Copenhagen and FC Basel. They managed a draw against Chelsea and lost to Sparta Praga, Bordeaux and AS Roma.

Bayern Munchen (1st W3 D0 L0)

Bayern is in top of Group E having 9 points, so a victory here would assure them the qualification into the next round after only 4 games.

Their first travel this UCL season was in Basel, where Bastian Schweinsteiger struck twice after the interval, the second with a minute to play, as Bayern came from behind to win.

The German side's most recent trip to the Romania came in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage when Daniel Van Buyten earned them a 1-0 win at FC Steaua Bucureşti.

However, Bayern has a long list of injured players that won’t show up in this match. Luis Van Gaal was accused by President Uli Hoeness after Ivica Olic was forced to undergo knee surgery which will rule him out for six months, saying that the coach should have rested the top players more after a demanding World Cup.

The following players are unavailable: Olic, van Bommel, Klose, Ribery, Robben, Contento and Badstuber.

The Betting Verdict

The price for a Bayern win is tempting but with so many absences and already having 9 points I would not be very confident on putting my money on them. CFR will align their best 11, no injuries, no suspensions, only a big desire to impress.

The difference between CFR in the domestic league and CFR in UCL is huge. All players want to impress in Europe, hoping that they’ll make the step to a bigger club in a more important championship. I think they do have the ability to cause a surprise, let’s not forget that they were close to make it in Germany as well.

My best advice for this game is to take both teams to score at a price close to 1.9 which is offered for a Bayern win, but which is less probable.

With Demichelis and Tymoschuk back, I think Bayern is vulnerable and the hosts could take advantage of this fact. Bayern will find a way to score, one way or another (they haven’t scored in their first meeting but still won 3-2). CFR conceded 20 goals in 13 league games, so It’s hard to imagine that they’ll keep a clean sheet against Bayern.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :

Take Both teams to score at 1.72 Bet365
Confidence 7/10