CFR Cluj welcomes Lazio
CFR Cluj welcomes Lazio at the Stadionul Dr. Constantin Radulescu in a match from Group E of Europa League. Let’s see what we can give you as information for this clash in our Europa League predictions.
CFR Cluj were really close to reach the Champions League group stage this year. The Romanian side reached the playoffs of the competition, after eliminating strong teams like Astana, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Celtic. But in the playoffs they faced Slavia Praha and got eliminated after two losses by the Czech champion.
Now in Europa League CFR Cluj will try to hope that their wins over Astana, Maccabi and Celtic were not a fluke. They are currently leading the standings in the Romanian Liga I with 20 points won and two points advantage in front of the second Viitorul. In their last game the champions hosted Voluntari in Cluj-Napoca and enjoyed an exciting 5-0 win.
Lazio are entering the Europa League group stage for another year. The Eagles are still managed by Simone Inzaghi, despite of the average previous season they had.
This season also didn’t start in the best way possible for Lazio, who have one win, one draw and one loss in the first three matches. In their last game the Eagles suffered their first defeat for the season. Inzaghi’s boys played against SPAL away from home and got beaten with 1-2. Ciro Immobile opened the score for the visitors from a penalty kick, but SPAL turned the game around with two goals after the halftime break.
Many pundits love to say that Italian teams are rarely taking their participation in Europa League very seriously. We shall wait to see what will be Lazio’s approach in the competition this season.
In our Europa League predictions we think that CFR Cluj have a very good opportunity to win against a little bit shaken Lazio team on Thursday. Let’s see.