ROMANIAN LEAGUE BETTING PICK - CFR CLUJ V UNIREA URZICENI

Romanian League

2010-10-24 - CFR Cluj vs Unirea Urziceni

A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt

CFR Cluj v Unirea Urziceni
Football: Romanian Liga 1
Venue: Dr. Constantin Radulescu stadium, Cluj
Sunday 24th October – Kickoff time: 20:00 GMT+2

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CFR Cluj (15th W-3 D-3 L-5)

CFR are coming after a demanding match in the UCL against Bayern Munchen. They scored 2 goals and 2 and a half own-goals losing the match 3-2, so a lot of frustration were accumulated during these two UCL games (in Rome and Munich).

I can’t say there is a great atmosphere around the team, they conceded 8 goals in their previous 2 games. CFR got defeated in the last match of the championship with a severe 5-3 in Vaslui.

At first, everyone thought that CFR is passing a bad momentum that will go away sooner or later, but the situation is persisting and they are not able to find a solution. They simply cannot tie two victories in a row in the championship.

Today CFR will host Unirea Urziceni, having an impressive record against this team with 5 victories and 3 draws since Urziceni promoted for the first time in the Liga 1.

CFR will be without Cadu (suspended) while Muresan, Traore and Nuno Claro are injured.

CFR last 5 home results:

03.10.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 10 CFR Cluj 4 - 0 FC Brasov
19.09.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 8 CFR Cluj 1 - 2 FCM Târgu-Mureş
28.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 6 CFR Cluj 2 - 1 Pandurii Tg. Jiu
13.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 4 CFR Cluj 2 - 2 Astra Ploiesti
02.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 2 CFR Cluj 2 - 0 Victoria Branesti

Unirea Urziceni (11th W-3 D-4 L-4)

After all the changes from the summer, Urziceni became a modest team without ambitions to reach an European spot at the end of the season. They are just 1 point above the relegation zone (so is CFR but their situation is a bit different) so this match could aggravate their situation even more.

Despite registering some impressive home wins against Dinamo or Steaua, Unirea failed to win an away game this season and there is no hope they will do it anytime soon. They only scored 2 goals away from home this season.

Coach Octavian Grigore doesn’t have important squad concerns, his biggest problem is the squad itself, which is inexperienced and why not, cheap. All players brought in summer were either free agents or came as a loan.

Urziceni’s last 5 away results:

02.10.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 10 Gloria Bistrita 0 - 0 Unirea Urziceni
18.09.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 8 Otelul Galati 4 - 1 Unirea Urziceni
23.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 5 FC Brasov 1 - 1 Unirea Urziceni
07.08.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 3 FCM Târgu-Mureş 1 - 0 Unirea Urziceni
23.07.2010 Liga 1 Etapa 1 Pandurii Tg. Jiu 0 - 0 Unirea Urziceni

Head to Head

01.08.2009 Liga 1 Etapa 1 CFR Cluj 2 - 0 Unirea Urziceni
31.10.2008 Liga 1 Etapa 13 CFR Cluj 1 - 0 Unirea Urziceni
21.10.2007 Liga I Etapa 11 CFR Cluj 2 - 0 Unirea Urziceni
06.08.2006 Liga I Etapa 2 CFR Cluj 4 - 0 Unirea Urziceni

The Betting Verdict

Unirea is finding it difficult to score in their away games so their only ‘weapon’ remained the defensive game. They will try to grab a draw here but I’m confident that they’ll collect many points with this tactics.

The pressure is on CFR now, this position is unacceptable for the title holders who cannot afford not to win this game. Statistics against Unirea are favorable, they managed a 4-0 victory in their previous home game so if they cannot beat this poor Unirea side than will not beat anyone.

Despite 4 previous games in Cluj ended with more than 2 goals, I think this one will be different, with Unirea defending and CFR doing just enough to edge a victory because they will probably be tired after their midweek match against Bayern.

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Main bet: Under 2.5 goals at 1.73 Bet365
Confidence: 7/10

Side bet: CFR to win to nil at 1.9 Bet365
Confidence: 5/10

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