Astana and Cluj meet at Astana Arena, in a match for this phase of the UEFA Champions League (1st Qualifying Round). These two teams have never faced each other before, so this will be their first direct confrontation.
Astana:
The home team will make its debut in this edition of the UEFA Champions League with the intention of conquering a positive result, taking advantage of the home factor. The team comes to this match after a away win against Tobol by (0-2). In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, Astana won 7 and lost 3. Their defense has not been very strong, as they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches, but their attack has scored regularly, since who scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches. In 15 matches, they suffered the first goal 5 times and only managed 1 comeback. In the last 11 home matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have conceded 5 of their 11 goals between minutes (76′-90 ‘).
Astana comes into this game with a 0-2 victory over Tobol, ending the two consecutive defeats in the national championship. We remember that Astana is present in this first round of the Champions League for having won the title in the Championship of Kazakhstan. In this first match against Cluj, coach Roman Grygorchuk must opt for a more offensive strategy, looking for a good advantage in this match, since the second game will be away from home. The far right Marin Tomasov is one of the great highlights of this Astana, as it is very fast and strong in counterattack. In addition, the player mentioned above stands out on the home team, with 9 goals scored. All equipment is available for this game.
Cluj:
The visiting team plays their first match in this edition of the UEFA Champions League with the intention of winning a positive result as a visitor. The team comes to this match after a home loss with Viitorul by (0-1). In the last 10 away matches Cluj has won 5, tied 4 and lost 1. Their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches. In their away matches there is a tendency for few goals, since 17 of the last 31 matches have ended with Under 1,5 goals and 24 out of 31 have ended with Under 2,5 goals.
The CFR Cluj arrives at this game without great motivation, after losing the Romanian Super Cup, against Viitorul, by 0-1. It is important to keep in mind that the Cluj won the title of the Romanian Championship in the last season. Despite playing away from home, coach Dan Petrescu must present a team hungry for a ball, that is, take advantage of the opponent’s lack of confidence to score goals. Striker George Tucudean was one of the great leaders of Cluj in the last championship, with 18 goals, but in the last game he played as substitute. There are no big absences for this game.
