Astra Ploiesti v Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: "Astra", Ploiesti
Staruday 17th November - Kickoff time: 16:00 GMT+2

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Astra Ploiesti (9th W-6 D-7 L-4)

Due to the relatively good weather for this period of the year, it has been decided that the first stage of the second part of the championship will be played this year, so Astra will be looking to extend their unbeaten home run that lasts since August.

Astra managed to hold leaders, Dinamo Bucuresti on their previous match and newly promoted Vointa Sibiu remains the only team to win in Ploiesti this season.

With only 5 goals conceded at home it’s not surprising that Steaua, Vaslui or Dinamo couldn’t get a win here, Tibor Selymes’s team being one of the most precise ones when it comes to defense.

However, Astra were not able to score in their last 3 games, only collecting 2 points from the goalless draws against Ceahlaul and Dinamo.

The most important absence will be midfielder Ousmane N’Doye who is suspended for this game.

Astra’s home run:

11.12.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 17 Astra Ploiesti 0 - 0 Dinamo
25.11.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 15 Astra Ploiesti 0 - 0 Ceahlaul
05.11.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 13 Astra Ploiesti 1 - 1 Petrolul Ploiesti
24.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 11 Astra Ploiesti 1 - 0 FC Vaslui
30.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 9 Astra Ploiesti 2 - 2 Sportul Studentesc

CFR Cluj(2nd W-11 D-3 L-3)

CFR faced Steaua in the previous round and despite taking the lead in the first half thanks to Kapetanos (ex-Steaua striker), the team from Cluj were not able to preserve the advantage and ended up being equalized.

CFR finished the match playing with 9 men and only Beto’s excellent reflexes made them to walk away with a point, the Portuguese goalkeeper showing once again why he’s being capped at his national team.

Midfielder Gabriel Muresan and striker Weldon were the ones sent off, which means that they are already on vacation and won’t be featuring in this match, which is bad news for CFR, these two being among the most important members of the squad.

Weldon is the top scorer of the team, so Kapetanos will have a hard job replacing him, but he did well so far, scoring twice lately.

CFR’s away form:

10.12.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 17 Steaua 1 - 1 CFR Cluj
27.11.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 15 Vointa Sibiu 0 - 1 CFR Cluj
31.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 12 FC Brasov 1 - 2 CFR Cluj
15.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 10 Concordia Chiajna 0 - 4 CFR Cluj
24.09.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 8 Rapid 1 - 1 CFR Cluj

The betting verdict

CFR only failed to score in one away game, against Pandurii Tg Jiu earlier this season. Astra however, managed to hold off Dinamo in the previous stage, a team with similar offensive strength with CFR’s.

Since Astra joined the Liga 1, CFR were not able to win when travelling to Ploiesti, losing once in 2010 (0-1) and squeezing a draw in March this year, thanks to a late goal scored by Batin.

The odds are mainly influenced by the position of the teams on the table, CFR being just one point behind Dinamo, while Astra is only 9th. The draw seems to be the most likely outcome, but taking Astra on double chance (or AH) at 1.8 is the best option I could think of for this match.

The Pick :

Astra Ploiesti 1-1 CFR Cluj

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Astra on double chance at 1.83 at PaddyPower
Confidence: 7/10