We’re in again for an eventful week, when it comes to European football cups fixtures. Competitions have now reached the second leg of the preliminary round, and no less than four Romanian teams are fighting for a position in the playoffs.
On Thursday, three Romanian teams will be proving their mettle in the Europa League’s third preliminary round.
In the Czech Republic, starting 6 pm local time, Astra Giurgiu will be playing their return match against Slovan Liberec. In the first leg, the Romanians snatched a 3-nil win, so they should have no problem securing their qualification for the competition’s playoffs. Astra have had an excellent run early into the season, winning all its official games so far, including a win in Romania’s Supercup, when on July 11 Astra outclassed Steaua Bucharest.
Starting 7.30 pm in the central Transylvanian city of Cluj, the local side CFR will be facing Dinamo Minsk from Belarus. In the first leg and on home turf, Dinamo Minsk managed a 1-nil win. CFR’s lineup however is arguably a better one, as they received no goals in their games counting towards the first two legs in the domestic championship. CFR are in for a hard task, yet they rank as favorites with the bookmakers.
The other Romanian team fighting for a position in the Europa League, Petrolul from Ploiesti, will be playing their away game against Czech squad Viktoria Plzen, starting 8 pm. Petrolul were held to a 1-all draw in the first leg last week. Former Romanian football legend Adrian Mutu scored his first goal in the European cups in the last five years, which is noteworthy. Mutu also scored in the domestic championship this past Sunday, when Petrolul thrashed FC Botosani, 4-1. No less than one thousand Ploiesti fans will be traveling to the Czech Republic to back their favorite team.