CFR Cluj v Dinamo
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: "Dr. Constantin Radulescu", Cluj
Saturday 5th September - Kickoff time: 21:30 GMT+2

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CFR Cluj (2nd W-8 D-2 L-2)

CFR will host leaders, Dinamo Bucuresti, in an attempt to keep their 37 year long unbeaten run against the “Red Dogs”. In 1974 Dudu Georgescu and Cornel Dinu scored the goals in the 2-0 victory for Dinamo, which was the last one on CFR’s stadium.

Despite not playing their best football, CFR is running well, the last time they suffered a defeat was back in August when Pandurii managed to beat them. Since then, CFR registered 6 victories and 2 draws which places them in the second place, only one point behind Dinamo.

CFR is coming into this match after winning three consecutive games, the last one in Brasov, where they needed two late goals to collect all points. Weldon was once again their decisive man, the striker brought this summer from Benfica is showing his class, already scoring 6 goals since his arrival.

Attacking midfielder Bastos is suspended, but he wasn’t in his best form lately, so it shouldn’t be an important loss for CFR. On the other hand, captain Ricardo Cadu just signed a new contract with CFR and he’ll play for the club for at least 3 more years.

Probable CFR Cluj line-up :

Beto
Panin, Cadu, Diogo, Camorra
Peralta, Muresan, Renan
Sougou, Weldon, Ronny

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CFR’s home form:

22.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 11 CFR Cluj 2 - 1 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt
02.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 9 CFR Cluj 1 - 1 Petrolul Ploiesti
19.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 7 CFR Cluj 2 - 0 FC Vaslui
26.08.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 5 CFR Cluj 6 - 1 Sportul Studentesc
12.08.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 3 CFR Cluj 0 - 2 Gaz Metan Medias

Dinamo Bucuresti (1st W-8 D-3 L-1)

It looks like the elimination from the Europa League playoffs turned out to be a positive event for Dinamo, because since then they have been showing an impressive form in the domestic league.

Dinamo already scored 25 goals in 12 games and have the best defense from the league with only 5 goals conceded, 4 of them on the road. Only CFR Cluj have scored more goals this season, 26.

I would say that Dinamo has the most productive midfield from the league, defensive midfielder Kone is covering a lot of space which helps the defense a lot, while Catalin Munteanu already has 8 assists, making him the best attacking midfielder from the league. These assists are probably the reason behind striker Marius Niculae’s great form, being the league’s top scorer with 10 goals.

Coach Liviu Ciobotariu has his full squad at his disposal, only central defender Moti is doubtful, but he may start from the first minute.

Probable Dinamo line-up :

Balgradean
Scarlatache, Luchin, Grigore, Diabate
Rus, Kone, Munteanu, Alexe
Danciulescu, Niculae

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Dinamo’s away form:

29.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 12 U Cluj 0 - 0 Dinamo
17.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 10 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 0 - 5 Dinamo
25.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 8 Petrolul Ploiesti 1 - 5 Dinamo
11.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 6 FC Vaslui 3 - 1 Dinamo
21.08.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 4 Sportul Studentesc 0 - 2 Dinamo

The Betting Verdict

Jorge Costa is trying to implement a more offensive system at CFR Cluj, since his arrival they have been playing in a 4-3-3 system and despite some wrong steps in the beginning of the season (two consecutive defeats), CFR is starting to climb up on the table and they could even take over the lead if they manage to defeat Dinamo.

These two scored more than 50 goals so far, so there is no lack of firepower when we refer to them. This clash could be decided by the defenses, both of them were quite solid until now, but they will face the best opposition so far, so this match will test them the most.

This one could go either way, but the home advantage and the fact that Dinamo always underperformed when playing on this stadium leads me to the conclusion that they are the one to back in this fixture.

The Pick :

CFR Cluj 2-1 Dinamo

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take CFR Cluj to win at 2.10 Betsson