Rapid Bucuresti vs Sepsi Prediction & Match Preview

Steffen Schmidt - July 12, 2023

Rapid Bucuresti vs Sepsi
Romanian Liga I
Date: 14 July 2023, Friday
Kick-off at 19:30 UK / 20:30 CET
Venue: Superbet Arena-Giulesti (Bucharest).

Rapid Bucuresti start the new Liga I season with the home fixture against Sepsi on Friday evening at Superbet Arena-Giulesti.

The two teams played in the Championship Round last time out, finishing the campaign in fifth and sixth position respectively.

Sepsi will, however, play in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League after winning the Romanian Cup in the second consecutive year.

This match is particularly interesting because of Cristiano Bergodi. The Italian manager led Sepsi last season and made a move just to Rapid Bucuresti several days ago, following the departure of the team’s legend Adrian Mutu.

Bergodi knows everything about Sepsi and he could represent a significant advantage for the hosts in this matchup.

Rapid did not look great in their latest preseason test, losing 4-1 to Champions League contestants Slovan Bratislava nine days ago.

They have generally been tough to beat in Bucharest last season and they have the league’s deadliest striker in their ranks in the like of Marko Dugandzic.

The Croatian forward won the Romanian league golden boot last year with 22 goals scored and he will no doubts represent a massive threat to Sepsi’s goal on Friday.

The visitors, on the other side, have already played a competitive match this summer, beating Liga I reigning champions Farul Constanta 0-1 in the Romanian Super Cup game last weekend.

New manager Liviu Ciobotaria can be thrilled with his team’s defensive showing in that game.

Rapid Bucuresti vs Sepsi Head-to-head

• Rapid have a positive record in this matchup with three wins, three draws, and only one loss in seven meetings with Sepsi.
• Rapid have won and drawn two games each in four home clashes against Sepsi, conceding just one goal in the process.
• We’ve seen three or more goals just two times in the previous six head to head meetings between these rivals.

Rapid Bucuresti vs Sepsi Prediction

Rapid are 1.90 favorites to get the win on Friday but we don’t quite see the value there knowing how good Sepsi looked in the Romanian Super Cup game against Farul. This is why we would rather opt for the away win or draw double chance as the main pick at the 1.72 odds.

Also, the Under 2.5 goals FT bet looks a decent option at the 1.66 odds considering recent H2H trend as well as Sepsi’s strong defensive showing last Saturday against Liga I champions.

Rapid Bucuresti vs Sepsi Betting Tips

• Sepsi to win or draw @ 1.72 (8/11)

• Under 2.5 goals FT @ 1.66 (4/6) odd.