Champions League - Fiorentina v Steaua Bucharest

Newcomers Fiorentina in the CL, after a good result in Lyon, want to get their first win at home against Romanian team Steaua Bucharest.

Fiorentina have started the season a bit slow, standing on 12th place. AT home, they defeated Bologna and Genoa by 1-0 and drew with Juventus 1-1. Away though they have lost both games, 1-2 at Napoli and 0-3 at Lazio, so i don't really think they will thrash Steaua tonight. Gilardino has been in good form, scoring some goals, while Mutu is not sparkling as in last season. Still, he will be motivated for this match, as in Romania he was a Dinamo Bucharest palyer, Steaua's archrival in the local championship, so there is no issue about his nationality here. In the last match at home, he was substituted in the 70th minute, and he was very angry, which shows a lot of determination and desire for victory. Only Pasqual is unavailable for Prandelli, and Fiorentina will do their best to get a first CL victory.

Steaua Bucharest have been unlucky in the first match at home against Bayern. They hit the post twice and missed once with an empty net from an angle, but Bayern, especially in the first 55 minutes, when they were fresh enough, showed their superiority and missed come good chances also. In the championship, Steaua stand on 3rd place, 2 points behind the leaders Dinamo. Last round, they had a tough match against champions CFR Cluj and were rather dominated from what i have seen. But this was because they were not giving 100%, looking ahead for this travel in Italy. Defensive midfielder and captain, Radoi, is trying hard to be fit for this match, as he is a very important player in the defensive lineup, but coach Lacatus might take a huge risk by using him, as a new injury might occur that would make him unavailable for a much longer period of time. Side defender Emeghara, who was also injured until recently, has travelled with the team. Steaua's coach will probably play with a defensive line-up, using a 4-2-3-1, with the two lateral midfielders coming down in defense a lot, so there will be no pressure on Fiorentina;s defense. Steaua will be looking for counter-attacks with fast Semedo and Szekely.

Fiorentina are the better team, but they lack CL experience. Steaua will be coming to snatch a point in Italy and the odds for AH+1 on them is very attractive. Last seasons, their travels in Madrid with Real or at Lyon showe much better matches than their home ones, so i believe tonight they will not lose by more than one goal. A draw is not out of the question. Medium stakes on the AH+1 for me. Good luck.

Pick : Steaua AH +1
Odds : 2.06
Stake : 5 / 10
Bookmaker : Pinnacle
Match Result : 0-0
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