Liam Garcia
Dailysports's expert
The upcoming match in the Romanian Liga L will feature Universitatea Cluj and Oțelul Galați. The match will take place at Cluj Arena in Cluj-Napoca.
Universitatea Cluj
Since securing promotion to Liga I in the 2022–23 season, which was their first appearance following an eight-year absence, Universitatea Cluj has finished in the relegation rounds for the past two seasons. This season, they have turned out to be a surprise package, as they are firmly perched at the top, leading by three points.
However, results have not been going their way in the league as they have failed to secure victories in their last three matches, recording two draws and one loss. Their most recent match was a 2-2 draw against newly promoted outfit Unirea Slobozia at the May 1 stadium. The international break couldn't have come at a better time, and they will be hoping to regain their momentum and return to winning ways.
Oțelul Galați
Providing the opposition are Oțelul Galați, who have also emerged as a surprise package this season. After 11 games, they occupy third place in the league standings and are four points behind their opponents in this upcoming encounter, while they have maintained a three-point cushion over the relegation round spot.
The Steelworkers have been a difficult team to beat lately, avoiding defeat in their last eleven matches (D7, W4), though there is a feeling head coach Dorinel Munteanu might not be entirely satisfied with his team's performance in the last seven games due to the number of draws accumulated (D6, W1) while failing to score in three of those matches.Before the international break, they were held to a 1-1 draw against Universitatea Craiova, stretching their draw streak to four games.
Probable Line-ups
Universitatea Cluj: Gertmonas; Chipciu, Cristea, Masoero, Boboc, Bic, Popescu, Pereira, Nistor, Silaghi, Thiam
Oțelul Galați: Popescu; Maftei, Živulić, Stevanović, Silva, Cisotti, Lameira, Teles, Maciel, Jurić, Pop
Match Facts
- Universitatea Cluj have opened the scoring in each of their last seven home games in Liga I.
- There have been fewer than 3 goals scored in total in each of Oțelul Galați's last 10 games.
- Universitatea Cluj averages 2 goals per game when playing at home, and Oțelul Galați averages 1 goal per game when playing away.
Head-To-Head
In the last 17 meetings, Universitatea Cluj have won 5 times, Oțelul Galați have won 8 times, and there have been 4 draws, with the goal difference being 20-16 in favor of Oțelul Galați.
Prediction
Oțelul Galați are considered underdogs in this upcoming encounter despite holding the advantage in the H2H meetings against Universitatea Cluj. The away side has only lost one of their last five games in this fixture while recording three wins and one draw in the process. We recommend supporting the away side.
