Romanian League
2011-11-20 - Ceahlaul vs Steaua Bucuresti
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: "Ceahlaul", Piatra Neamt
Sunday 20th November - Kickoff time: 20:30 GMT+2
Ceahlaul (11th W-4 D-4 L-5)
Ceahlaul is coming after two consecutive victories which gave them the opportunity to at least temporarily escape the relegation zone. They are the best placed newly promoted team at this moment, 3 points above Petrolul which is 13th.
Coach Costel Enache thinks that these victories are a result of their strategy to promote young players, Ceahlaul having one of the youngest squad with an average of 25.6 years. However, 3 out of their 4 victories to date were obtained against newly promoted teams, so their current position on the table may be misleading.
It is however interesting that they obtained most of their points from away games, more than double the amount they collected at home. With 3 victories and 2 draws on the road, Ceahlaul is 6th on the away games table. This means that they haven’t been doing well at home, only defeating Vointa Sibiu. Otelul, Rapid and Dinamo all won here, Ceahlaul only scoring 4 goals in 6 games and conceded 11 which makes them the worst home team from the league.
Ceahlaul’s home record:
29.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 12 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 2 - 1 Vointa Sibiu
17.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 10 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 0 - 5 Dinamo
16.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 7 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 0 - 0 Concordia
28.08.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 5 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 1 - 2 Rapid
14.08.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 3 Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 0 - 2 Otelul Galati
Steaua Bucuresti (6th W-6 D-4 L-3)
Steaua is also coming after two consecutive victories, both obtained against newly promoted teams. It’s been 18 months since they last won three consecutive games in Liga 1, so they’ll have the chance to repeat that performance today.
Their previous away win however came after the unfortunate events in the match against Petrolul, Steaua was leading 1-0 when a fan ran into the pitch and assaulted Steaua’s defender Galamaz. The match was interrupted and the victory awarded to Steaua.
Despite being undefeated in six games, Steaua is currently 6th on the table, 11 points behind rivals Dinamo. They have the chance to close that gap to 5 points if they win this match and the upcoming derby against Dinamo.
Gardos, Tatu, Nikolic, Matei and Balan are all injured, however, Galamaz, the player who suffered the kick from Petrolul’s so called fan will be able to play today.
Steaua’s away record:
30.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 12 Petrolul Ploiesti 0 - 3 Steaua
16.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 10 FC Vaslui 0 - 0 Steaua
25.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 8 Sportul Studentesc 0 - 0 Steaua
10.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 6 Gaz Metan Medias 3 - 0 Steaua
21.08.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 4 Astra Ploiesti 2 - 1 Steaua
The betting verdict
As seen in their stats, Steaua has been rather poor on their travels, the only match they won was the one against Petrolul which was interrupted. I don’t think there is any value backing them at 1.75, but I do think they could obtain a narrow win or at least a draw.
Ceahlaul will make them fight for every ball, for the first time this season they’ll be supported by 15 000 fans. Despite the fact that their performances have been modest in the previous seasons, Steaua still attracts supporters when they are travelling all around the country.
Considering the fact that Ceahlaul only scored 4 times in 6 home games and Steaua were not able to score in 3 of their 6 away games, I would say that under 2.5 goals looks the most appealing for this match.
The Pick :
Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 0-1 Steaua Bucuresti
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Under 2.5 goals at 1.70 PinnacleConfidence: 7/10
