Romanian League
2012-03-26 - Steaua Bucuresti vs Gaz Metan Medias
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Romania : Liga 1
Venue: Stadionul Ghencea, Bucuresti
Sunday 18th March – Kickoff time: 21:30 GMT+2
Steaua (5th W-12 D-5 L-5)
Steaua’s fans believed that their team can get back in the battle for the title after three consecutive victories in 2012, but losing to 14th placed Targu Mures was a major setback for Ilie Stan’s team.
However, after Rapid lost in Brasov, Steaua could get on the podium once again in the eventuality of a win against Gaz Metan. They could reduce the difference between them and rivals Dinamo (2nd) to just one point.
Even though I backed Astra Ploiesti on handicap on their previous home games, I was pleasantly surprised with Steaua in that game. They managed to apply a lot of pressure and despite conceding a goal in the beginning of the match they left the impression that they are in total control of the match.
Goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu was ruled out for this match after suffering an injury, but his absence is not that important in my opinion, Steaua lost a lot of games lately because of his mistakes.
Steaua’s home form:
18.03.2012 Liga 1 Etapa 21 Steaua 2 - 1 Astra Ploiesti
19.12.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 18 Steaua 1 - 0 Vointa Sibiu
10.12.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 17 Steaua 1 - 1 CFR Cluj
26.11.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 15 Steaua 1 - 0 FC Brasov
06.11.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 13 Steaua 2 - 1 Concordia Chiajna
Gaz Metan Medias (11th W-7 D-5 L-10)
Despite playing a quality football most of the time, Gaz Metan has to fight for avoiding relegation this season after recording some poor results in the first part of the championship.
Gaz Metan hold leaders CFR Cluj to a draw two weeks ago, then recorded their second away victory of the season against in Sibiu against Vointa and things seemed to go well again for Cristi Pustai’s team.
Gaz Metan hosted bottom placed Mioveni on the previous stage and failed to collect all points against the team that lost 8 of their 10 games on the road. Mioveni took the lead in the 9th minute, but Markovic scored an equalizer in the first half, then the hosts went on missing from every position and lost two important points.
Cristi Pustai’s team will try to pull off another upset after defeating Steaua the previous time they’ve travelled to Bucharest. However, they’ll have to do it without defender Ciuca who is suspended.
Gaz Metan’s away record:
17.03.2012 Liga 1 Etapa 21 Vointa Sibiu 0 - 2 Gaz Metan Medias
03.03.2012 Liga 1 Etapa 19 Dinamo 2 - 0 Gaz Metan Medias
04.12.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 16 Concordia Chiajna 0 - 0 Gaz Metan Medias
21.11.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 14 Rapid 5 - 3 Gaz Metan Medias
28.10.2011 Liga 1 Etapa 12 Otelul Galati 1 - 0 Gaz Metan Medias
The Betting Verdict
The odds are a bit short, but if Steaua plays the way they did in their previous home game against Astra Ploiesti than they should collect all points today.
Gaz Metan has a poor away record and Steaua is not the easiest opponent to improve that record against, especially considering Medias’ disastrous record when travelling to Bucharest.
I’m quite confident Steaua will win this match, but the odds for both teams to score at bet365 are huge, at 2.50 this is by far the best value bet for this game.
The Pick :
Steaua Bucuresti 2-1 Gaz Metan Medias
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Steaua to win at 1.48 at PinnacleConfidence: 8/10
Try Both teams to score at 2.50 at Bet365
Confidence: 5/10 (Main bet)
