Clean Sheet the Key for Cluj
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We have reached the third qualifying round of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League. There are five matches taking place on Wednesday 7th August, one of which is in Romania as Celtic travel to play CFR Cluj at the Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Stadium.
This match is one of several taking place in the Champions Path of the draw and that means both teams won their domestic title last season.
CFR Cluj are the champions of Romania having won the Liga 1 title by 2 points from FCSB. This saw them qualify for the Champions League first qualifying round. They were drawn with Astana of Kazakhstan in a tie which could have proved tricky. However, CFR Cluj won the home leg 3-1 to progress 3-2 on aggregate.
In the second qualifying round they were paired with Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel and CFR Cluj progressed by the same score as the previous round. This time they won the first leg 1-0 and were held to a 2-2 away from home.
CFR Cluj have made a good start to the defence of their domestic title, winning three and drawing one of their four matches to date. They have drawn one and won three of their four home games in all competitions this season, two of which have been wins in the Champions League.
Trends show CFR Cluj have won three of their last four home Champions League games, including a 3-1 win over Sporting Braga.
Celtic joined CFR Cluj in the first qualifying round of the Champions League this season. The Scottish champions faced Sarajevo of Bosnia and won both legs of the tie to progress comfortably with a 5-2 aggregate win.
In the second qualifying round Celtic were paired with Nõmme Kalju of Estonia and this proved to be an easy tie for the Scottish club. They breezed through the home leg 5-0 before completing the job with a 2-0 away win.
The domestic league started for Celtic on the weekend and they made a very fast start, defeating St Johnstone 7-0 to immediately move to the top of the table after just one game.
However, Celtic have not always had it easy away from home in the Champions League and last season they were eliminated at the playoff stage by AEK Athens, losing 2-1 away from home. They were also held to a 0-0 draw at Rosenborg last season.
Team news and CFR Cluj will be looking towards Billel Omrani for their goals. The French striker has scored 4 goals in the Champions League this season, including a hattrick.
Celtic will be without the injured duo of Tomas Rogic and Kieran Tierney. There are also doubts over the fitness of Daniel Arzani, Kouassi Eboue, Jack Hendry and Vakoun Issouf Bayo.
This has the makings of a tough game for Celtic. CFR Cluj are strong at home and could come away with a narrow one goal victory to set up an exciting second leg. A clean sheet would be a welcome bonus for the hosts.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UCL
363529
1
1 - 0
2.44
20°
3.10
3.10
3.10
2.47
1
1
-1
1 - 1(1 - 1)
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