Romanian League
2013-10-26 - Botosani vs Petrolul Ploiesti
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Romania: Liga 1
Venue: "Municipal" - Botosani
Saturday 26th October – Kickoff time: 15:00 GMT+2
Botosani (5th W5 D4 L2)
High flying Botosani suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat on matchday eleven to Pandurii Targu Jiu, which was only their second defeat of the season.
The newly promoted dropped to the 5th place in the Liga 1 table and with a tough schedule ahead of them they are expected to drop some more.
Steaua Bucuresti was the only team that managed to walk away with three points from Botosani, Cristian Popovici’s side have beaten Vaslui and held CFR Cluj to a goalless draw.
Botosani doesn’t seem to be so efficient like they were in the beginning of the season and Popovici’s defense is also starting to show signs of weakness. They’ll have to work on all that if they want to avoid a second consecutive defeat.
Petrolul Ploiesti (3rd W6 D4 L1)
With only one defeat in eleven games, Petrolul Ploiesti sits on the third spot in the Liga 1 table with 22 points to their name.
Petrolul slumped to a 1-0 defeat in Medias on their previous trip, but bounced back with a 3-0 home win over newly promoted Sageata Navodari last weekend to get back on track.
They will now travel to Botosani in an attempt to record their fourth away win of the season. Petrolul have only conceded four goals in five away games, so the hosts should find it hard to grab a goal in this one.
This will be Petrolul’s only second clash against a newly promoted, as I’ve mentioned before they’ve trashed Sageata Navodari last week in a match that ended 3-0 for the Ploiesti based side.
The Betting Verdict
This is the kind of game Petrolul Ploiesti has to win in order to keep up with leaders Steaua Bucuresti, or at least try to consolidate the second place.
It’s difficult for any Liga 1 team to threaten Steaua’s supremacy, but the leaders may start to show signs of weakness after playing some demanding UCL games. Petrolul will want to be there to put some pressure when that happens.
Picking up three points in Botosani won’t be a walk in the park though, the home side is a rudimentary one, but they do compensate with an excellent defensive organization and a lot of determination.
Up until their 6-1 defeat in Targu Jiu, Botosani has proven to be difficult to break down, but their confidence must have been shaken by the humiliating result, so I’ll back Petrolul to take advantage.
The Pick :
Botosani 0-1 Petrolul Ploiesti
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take Petrolul Ploiesti to win at 2.00 at CoralConfidence: 5/10
