Steaua Bucuresti take on CSKA Sofia in the Balkan derby of the Play-off round in the Europa League. Strangely enough, the hosts decided to move the game to Cluj and this means the game will be played at Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu and it kicks off at 18:30 GMT. The hosts started relatively well the season and will be looking to secure a good advantage ahead of the visit to Bulgaria.
Steaua Bucuresti are involved in the Europa League Qualifying rounds from the Play-off Round so they will be relatively fresh. The Army men currently sit in 2nd place in the Romanian Liga 1 table with seven points from the opening three games and trail arch rivals Dinamo Bucuresti by 2 points. Steaua won against Universitatea Cluj on Sunday (2:1) thanks to strikes from Costea and substitute Rusescu. Coach Levy is expected to rely on Costea and Tatu upfront on Thursday and he will hope that Steaua can maintain their 100 percent home form.
CSKA Sofia have also done extremely well in their three competitive games since the start of the season in Bulgaria as they won the Super Cup after winning 3:1 against Litex. The Reds then recorded two straight wins in the championship against Lokomotiv Sofia (2:1) and Chernomorets (1:0) which means they sit level on points with leaders Cherno More at the top of the A PFG. CSKA will be without their key centre back Apostol Popov which will definitely weaken the back four so coach Milen Radukanov has to be very careful on Thursday.
The slightly bigger experience of the hosts and the support they will have from the stands gives them the edge in the first leg and I think it is worth trying the odds of 1.83.
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Tipster: George_S
Posted at: 17/08/2011 17:59
Odds: 1.83
Bookmaker: Bet365
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CFR Cluj
Steaua
Ludogorets
