- Team status: Chindia Targoviste are in 6th place in the Liga 2 Championship Group, 29 points behind the leaders, Corvinul Hunedoara.
- Form guide: CS Corvinul Hunedoara are on a roll, winning four of their last five matches and sitting top of Liga 2’s Championship Group on 68 points.
- Head-to-head: Corvinul have won the last three head-to-head meetings with Chindia Targoviste, who have lost five straight games.
Chindia Targoviste are down and out
The odds for the visit of CS Corvinul Hunedoara to Chindia Targoviste on Saturday look a tad odd, with the visitors as short as 1.81 favourites, while the hosts are available at 4.14. In truth, the visitors are the superior team and there can be no argument that they are more likely to win this match, but the short odds don’t allow for much room to maneuver if you fancy them.
In the last meeting between these sides, three weeks ago, Corvinul ran out 2-0 winners at home in the Liga 2 Championship Group to take charge of this promotion race. Since then, Corvinul have picked up a further four wins from five and are in the driving seat to go up.
Fullbacks in attack is the norm for Corvinul
Chindia have lost all four of their home matches since that defeat, sliding down the Championship Group table to sit in sixth place with only 39 points from eight games. Corvinul lead the league on 68 points from eight matches, so this is a make or break match for both sides.
The hosts are managed by interim staff since Poenaru was dismissed on April 10 and the disruption to tactical coherence and focus is perhaps evident in the side’s performances and results. Chindia are a pragmatic, counter-attacking team with a compact midfield that sets up their fullbacks to get forward in numbers.
However, Corvinul are a relentless pressing team that gets their fullbacks forward all the time anyway. The fitness to play at the high tempo required by Corvinul’s system, which Florin Maxim has masterminded so well this season, is perhaps the main reason why they have dominated Liga 2.
Tactical battle might be a mismatch
Tactical outlook
A compact, counter-attacking approach to the game is a solid plan, but the home side just haven’t had the cohesion to execute it in recent weeks and we sense Corvinul’s relentless pressing will suffocate their build-up play and force errors that lead to counter-attacking chances.
Key players
- Doru Popadiuc has been Chindia’s main outlet of late, getting on the scoresheet two of the three goals his team scored during a run of five straight defeats.
- Gideon Goodlad has been Corvinul’s major threat in the same five games, scoring three of their nine goals.
Stats and prediction
Chindia are averaging just 0.75 goals per home game in Liga 2 this season, while Corvinul have two wins from the last three on the road in the Championship Group. They conceded five goals on their travels in four matches, but we’re going for the better odds of ‘over 2.5 goals’ because Corvinul’s attacking form has been better of late.
We’re backing the away team to win at a shade of odds-on because we believe their form is superior, their record in this fixture is better, they have a much clearer sense of what they are trying to achieve on the field and have the confidence that comes with a run of good results.
