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Steffen Schmidt - July 13, 2023
Hermannstadt vs Farul Constanta
Romanian Liga I
Date: 15 July 2023, Saturday
Kick-off at 16:30 UK / 17:30 CET
Venue: Stadionul Municipal (Sibiu).
Farul Constanta will begin their title-defense quest in the elite tier of Romanian football on Saturday afternoon when they visit Stadionul Municipal for the clash against Hermannstadt in Gameweek 1.
Farul got their first trophy in team’s new history after the merge last year and they are hoping to build on an incredible campaign and stay in contention for the silverware for as long as possible in tough competition (primarily CFR Cluj).
Nevertheless, head coach Gheorge Hagi does not have too many reasons for optimism based on the team’s displays in preseason.
Farul will go into this off the back of four consecutive defeats, a run that includes a 0-1 loss to Sepsi in the Romanian Super Cup last Saturday.
Also, the visitors are amid a very difficult Champions League qualifications tie against Sheriff. The first leg was played on Wednesday and the second leg is scheduled for Tuesday night, just three days after this match.
Hermannstadt, on the other side, enter the new season with hopes of a top-half finish following huge financial issues that took them nine points last year (debt).
They managed to save the elite-class status despite the points deduction and the match against the defending champions probably comes at the very best moment for them considering the rivals’ form this summer as well as their Champions League duties.
The value is with the hosts who are 1.53 to avoid a defeat on the opening day. Farul are in the middle of a double-header against Sheriff in their by far the most important games of the season and they would not mind sacrificing the result in the first round of the new domestic campaign for success in Europe.
Also, since Farul Constanta have failed to score in either of last season’s clashes against Hermannstadt, we are tempted to back the hosts to keep a clean sheet at the 3.00 odds.
