Astra - Sepsi
(won)
Odds on Astra are good, but i am going for a bet on under because of their matches in the Europa League. I think that the return match vs ZIRA is more important then this one
Wrote in other previews about Astra that they lost around 16 players in the summer and most of them were key players. Since then things are better as they maneged to sign some good players and they looked good against Zira in Europa League. They solved the problem of the striker by signing Chipirliu (last season best scorer in the 2nd league) and A. Le Tallec (yes, ex-liverpool player :))). I had my doubts about him being able to perform, but you can see that he is a quality player just by the way he walks and his style is similar to Olivier Giroud. In defence they brought Polczak a good player from poland who was a teamate last year with another defender Bejan. In the midfield they signed Poljak, good croatian player. Their Coach Iordanescu, is known for his ability to organize the defence game plan and in the match against Zira they looked pretty solid. In the attack they looked surprinsingly good and they scored 3 goals and created other big chances, but i expect them in this match to play less offensive. Also they will have to bring there an u21 player.
Sepsi OSK are a new promoted team that finished 2nd last year in the 2nd league. They promoted just because other teams did not have money to play in the first league. They are among the weakest team in the league and they will relegate at the end of the season. Sepsi will be the most hated team that ever played in the league, even more hated then Dinamo :))). They are based in the city Sf Gheorghe from the county Covasna, where around 75% of the population has hungarian roots. During the summer they made some transfers that will help them become better, but that will not be enough. They signed 4 defenders: Oros( who has a lot of experience, but lacks tehnique and has the speed of a snail) Dima and Kilyen, (who are youngsters without experience, not even in the 2nd league) and Grecu ( who is a decent fullback, but had big problems with injuries). In the midfield they signed 5 players: Papsys and Pilibaitis (from the legendary Lituanian league), Petre (who is a great talent, but it is a degenerate gambler and future alcoholic), Astafei (from Malaysia :))) and Herea from 2nd romanian league. In the attack they have Hadnagy, who is a speculative striker, but he is 37 year old. One of their best player, Thiaw, had problems with his visa and did not go in their training camp this summer.
So, Sepsi lacks firing power and will defend to try an secure a point, while Astra will try something here, but they do not have the force to demolish the hungarian team. If Astra score first they will try to conserve their energy for the Europa League and if Sepsi scores first they will defend like hell for the rest of the match.
Good luck
Published: 16-07-2017, 10:28 CET
Pick: under 2.25
Odds: 1.95 at Pinnacle
Category: Romanian football
Date: 16-07-2017
Option: Under / Over
Stake: 8 (tipster's average: 8)