Wednesday 30/07/2014, 17:00, Champions League Qualifiers, Aktobe vs Steaua Bucuresti

Aktobe vs Steaua Bucuresti Preview

After a disappointing string of results in friendly games, Steaua Bucuresti returned to form and won four consecutive games, including two Champions League Qualifiers. Those victories also include the opening game in the domestic championship and the Cup match against city rivals Rapid. The Romanians now take on Aktobe away from home, hoping to secure another narrow margin victory on the road, just as they did two weeks ago against Stromsgodset.

Aktobe vs Steaua Bucuresti Odds

At Unibet

Aktobe 3.60, Draw 3.20, Steaua Bucuresti 2.10

Aktobe vs Steaua Bucuresti Tips

One of the reasons for Steaua Bucuresti's resurgence is that the team managed to keep a clean sheet on three occasions and their defensive was greatly improved. Arlauskis is their new goalkeeper and he seems to have returned to form after failing to impress in the first couple of games.

The Romanians struggled defensively and they were forced to do many changes during the season break, but the biggest impact was made by those transfers affecting the offensive. Coach Gilca was left with three strikers, but Vilceanu is only 17 years old, while Lemnaru is already 30 and failed to achieve anything remarkable over a rather lengthy career.

Keseru remains their best bet but on the road, the Romanian striker was unable to score any goals and he will be heavily defended by the Aktobe backline. The hosts know that they need to take advantage of home pitch, just as they did in the previous round against Dinamo Tbilisi. Back then, they were lucky to have won the first leg on the road by 1-0 and their opponents crumbled under pressure, allowing 3 goals.

The team from Kazahstan failed to extend its winning streak to four games in a row as they were stopped in their tracks by a team from the domestic championship. Scoring once on the road was not enough to collect all three points, but that should prompt manager Gazzaev to field the more offensive starting formation. Zenkovich and Neco are guaranteed to start tonight, but Antonov is a worthy alternative.

Key Facts

• The hosts have the advantage of playing 21 rounds of competitive football already, while Steaua's season has just begun.
• This is the first time the two teams meet in the Champions League preliminaries, but the Romanians have played in this competition several times

Aktobe vs Steaua Bucuresti Prediction

Bookmakers are overconfident in the Romanians' ability to win on the road and as a result would benefit from odds of 3.40 for Aktobe to win.

Risk-averse punters who fancy the idea of having a safety net in place should go for the double chance wager, at halved odds of 1.70 with Unibet.

Bet: Aktobe or Draw @ 1.70 with Unibet