CFR Cluj vs Celtic Glasgow will meet on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, in the first leg of the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League, at the “Dr. Constantin Rădulescu” stadium in Cluj Napoca.
CFR Cluj has scored 6 goals in the Champions League
CFR Cluj has played 9 official matches this season, one in the Romanian Super Cup, 4 in the 2nd and 3rd round of the Champions League and 4 in the 1st League, the balance being 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. The team coached by Dan Petrescu qualified in the preliminary round 3 of the Champions League, after eliminating FC Astana, 0-1 away and 3-1 at home and 1-0 at home with Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Billel Omrani 22) and 2-2 away. On Saturday night, the “railways” played with reserves in the 4th leg of League 1, winning 4-1 away with Chindia Târgoviște. The next opponent of the “white-throats” will be FC Hermannstadt, home in Gruia, but they are concentrated in the “double” with Celtic, which will take place on August 7 in Cluj Napoca and on August 13 in Glasgow.
- Probable team CFR Cluj (4-3-3): Arlauskis – Sušić, Paulo Vinícius, Burcă, Camora – Đoković, Bordeianu, Luís Aurélio (Hoban) – C. Deac, Rondón, Omranii
Celtic passed by FK Sarajevo and Nõmme Kalju
Celtic Glasgow won the title without any problems last season, having 87p, with 9p in addition to its great rival, Glasgow Rangers. Scotland’s teams have had poor results in recent European Cup matches, the UEFA coefficient has dropped, so the team coached by Neil Lennon has come to play in the Champions League preliminary rounds. A year ago, “The Bhoys” went through the preliminary rounds of FC Alashkert and Rosenborg BK, but was eliminated in round 3 by AEK Athens and after a play-off with FK Sūduva Marijampolė in the Europa League, came in groups . The Scots went through the group stage, but were eliminated in 16th by Valencia CF. Now they try again to reach the Champions League groups and after they passed FK Sarajevo, 3-1 away and 2-1 at home and Nõmme Kalju FC, 5-0 home and 2-0 away, they will play in round 3 with CFR Cluj. In the first leg of the 2019-2020 season, Celtic outscored St Johnstone 7-0.
- Probable team Celtic Glasgow (4-2-3-1): Bain – Abd Elhamed, Bitton, Ajer, Bolingoli – Brown, McGregor – Forrest, Christie, M. Johnston – O. Édouard
Celtic’s matches in the European Cups against the Romanian teams
- 1980-1981: Celtic Glasgow vs Politehnica Timişoara 2-1 and 0-1 (Cup Cup, Round I)
- 2014-2015: Celtic Glasgow vs Astra Giurgiu 2-1 and 1-1 (Europa League, Group D)
- 2019-2020: CFR Cluj vs Celtic Glasgow (Champions League, preliminary round 3)
CFR Cluj vs Celtic Glasgow Picks
The stake of the game is very high for Cluj, after learning that if they pass Celtic, they will play in the play-off with one of the following teams with Young Boys Bern, Slavia Prague, APOEL Nicosia / Qarabağ FK or NK Maribor / Rosenborg BK. In case of elimination, the “railway” will play in the Europa League play-off with Maccabi Tel-Aviv / FK Sūduva Marijampolė, FC Ararat-Armenia / FC Saburtalo Tbilisi, Riga FC / HJK Helsinki, F91 Dudelange / Nõmme Kalju FC or Sheriff Tiraspol / AIK Solna. The Romanian champion has a good opportunity to return to the Champions League groups, because Celtic, even though it has a great tradition, budget and wonderful supporters, is not a force in Europe. The hosts cannot count on one of the best and most fit players, Argentine midfielder Juan Emmanuel Culio, who is injured, with little chance of being restored until the time of the game with the Scots. It will be a balanced match, in which the “white-throats” will try to win by 1-0 or 2-0, with the main objective not to receive a goal. Celtic would be pleased with an equal in Gruia and probably not risk much. The players come after a 7-0 in the championship with St Johnstone FC, in the Champions League preliminaries have scored 12 goals.
Our Prediction: Both Teams Score
Odds: 1.75
