We’re beginning a new FBOTD week in Romania, and Kevin Hatchard believes a giant of the European game can cause an upset.
“Farul won 2-0 at FCSB recently, and tonight’s hosts did start to lose momentum towards the end of the regular season.”
Visitors can spring a surprise
FCSB v Farul Constanta
Monday 14 March, 19:00
There was late drama in Udine, as Roma grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to draw 1-1 against Udinese. Sadly for our Tobias, it wasn’t quite enough drama, as he was a left a goal short in his Over 2.5 Goals bet.
While Tobias roams the streets in search of a restorative coffee and pastry, we’ll head to Romania, because there’s an intriguing clash between two of the top four, FCSB and Farul Constanta.
FCSB used to be known as Steaua Bucharest, and are the most successful club in Romanian history. A legal battle over the use of the Steaua name has raged for years, but this is still the club that has won 26 league titles and 24 Romanian cups. They were crowned as champions of Europe back in 1986, defeating Terry Venables’ Barcelona on penalties after a goalless draw.
However, FCSB aren’t currently top of the standings, and they have only won four of their last ten league matches. At the end of last month, they lost at home to tonight’s opponents Farul Constanta.
People who remember the 1994 World Cup with fondness will love Farul Constanta, as the club is run by several prominent members of the Romania side that played so well that year in the USA. The supremely gifted Gheorghe Hagi is the majority owner and coach, while former Tottenham defender Gica Popescu is the club president.
Farul finished the regular season in fifth, and have only lost three of their last 11 league games. They won at FCSB very recently, and on the road they have lost just two of their last eight. Top scorer Jefte has 15 league goals, while Adrian Petre has weighed in with eight.
FCSB are trading at odds-on to win this, and I think that doesn’t reflect the fact that these sides aren’t too far apart in terms of quality. Yes, the hosts finished 14 points above Farul in the regular season, but their form is far from consistent.
I’ll lay the hosts at 1.9720/21.
Source: BetFair Tips
