Gaz Metan Mediaș – Universitatea Craiova will take place on Friday at 18:00, the confrontation will count for the sixth round of the League 1 play-off. The duel in Mediaș will be the one that will practically open the return of this play -off in League 1, in which the stake is by far the title of champion. In the regular season, the Oltenians won both in Transylvania and in Bănie, with the scores of 3-2 and 3-1 so that in the round of this play-off Cicâldău & co will manage to the Transylvanians another defeat, score 2-1.
The Oltenians start from the start favorites to victory in this confrontation. In addition to the difference in net value in their favor, Cristiano Bergodi’s students will also have the advantage of having in front of an experimental team of Transylvanians, Dusan Uhrin jr, and will call on several juniors to have the complete team for this match.
This situation was reached after on June 30, Gaz Metan parted ways with 8 players at the end of their contract. Thus, five stages before the end of the play-off, Gaz Metan was left without goalkeeper Ricardo Batista, defenders Thomas Juel-Nielsen, Marian Pleaşcă, midfielders Boubacar Fofana, Neluţ Roşu, Ely Fernandes, Paul Costea and striker Ioan Hora. Three of those listed, Fofana, Roșu and Fernandes were the main players this season for the Transylvanians. Fofana had a total of 24 games, Roşu had 23 games and one goal scored, and Fernandes had a record of 26 games and a goal scored. The other four players in the group who concluded their contract with Mediaș, had ephemeral appearances this season. It is about the goalkeeper Batista who defended only in one match in this championship, Juel-Nielsen who has a match and a goal scored, the one with FCSB in the 2-2 draw on “National Arena”, Pleaşcă, who collected 13 games, Costea with 3 games and Hora who totaled 5 games and scored a goal.
-The University against Gas has 6 victories in 11 matches in League 1. The Transylvanians scored two victories while three games ended in a draw.
-The University of Craiova has only one victory in League 1 on the field of Gas, the one of this regular season, score 3-2.
-In 4 of the last 5 “direct” at least 3 goals were scored in the match.
After the victory obtained in the last round in “Gruia” with CFR Cluj, the University of Craiova seriously entered the fight for the title, being one point behind the champion. With Bergodi at the helm, the Oltenians have three victories out of as many as possible and Mediaș, a team kneeling last round in its own stronghold of FC Botoșani, does not seem to have the strength to withstand the assault that the Oltenians will surely give in Transylvania with the thought the title.
PREDICTION: U Craiova to win @ 1,38
