ZENIT AT 1.88 TO BEAT UNIREA

Zenit @ 1.88? No thanks. If they are one of the top ten sides in Europe then why did they fail to qualify for the Champions League last season?

Unirea are even more on the decline, after losing manager Dan Petrescu last year

Found this from http://www.thefootytipster.com

Unirea Urziceni vs Zenit St.Petersburg

Today's featured game is the UEFA Champions League Qualifier in Romania between Unirea Urziceni and Russians Zenit St.Petersburg. Both sides have become familiar names on the European circuit over the past few years with the Russians taking the lion's share of the fame following their UEFA Cup success.

However, we'll look at the hosts first of all. This Unirea side is not the same side that you witnessed in the Champions League a couple of seasons ago where they caused Rangers a great deal of embarrassment with an emphatic victory in Scotland. It's not so much the difference in squad that has changed Unirea but a certain Dan Petrescu, who moved to Russia to take charge of Kuban Krasnodar. Unirea have never looked the same since he left and I personally don't consider them as an acceptable challenger for the Romanian Liga this year - I just don't see enough goal threat nor managerial know-how to make Unirea a threat again. Unirea struggled in their opening opening Liga game last week because hosts Pandurii are a resilient side and don't concede because they park the bus. Do Unirea have a way of breaking through that type of resilience? No! Unirea have got far more problems at the moment than are being documented, in my opinion, so I cannot seriously consider them in any competition. I knew Unirea would struggle at Pandurii because of Unirea's problems in attack and sure enough it ended 0-0. To make things worse for Unirea, they're missing integral playmaker Apostol and key holding midfielder Gomes. Zenit love to attack with constant possession through the middle so these are hefty blows for the hosts. Unirea are also playing this game in Bucharest as their own ground is not suitable for use in European football. Whereas this isn't a new thing for them, it still counts against them in my opinion and should be taken into consideration.

Visitors Zenit are finally beginning to look the force they were before their magical Kerzhakov/Arshavin attack was split up. In a way, the appointment of Luciano Spalletti was ingenius, although quite surprising. What better type of manager to take control of a wealthy side that manipulate the possession statistics than an Italian?! Spalletti has proved his worth with AS Roma many times and although he's had bad times against Romanian opponents in the past, you still have to favour Zenit to do the job today. Not only have Zenit dominated games and won the majority of them this season but they've been absolutely banging goals in of late, which is a worrying thought for everyone because they can already defend very well indeed. Just imagine if these guys still had Skrtel and Arshavin - they'd be dominating Russia without any challenge, in my opinion - they're that close to being the ultimate side out there. Zenit are missing Krizinac and Lazovic for the game, which are blows but not to the point where I'm going to ignore the game. Lazovic is a good striker but if Kerzhakov plays (which he will) and if the support from Danny is good (which it usually is!) then I have no qualms over the potency of Zenit's attack. Krizinac is a bigger blow in a sense as he's a very experienced centre-back but I'm going to ride that one and bank on Unirea's lack of midfield to mean that their attack won't get the necessary service and thus Zenit won't be too troubled. Let's also not forget that Zenit are mid-season whereas Unirea have just started their campaign.

Basically, I expect Zenit to manipulate the possession in this game because they're the superior side here and they more than have the capability to do so. No central midfield for Unirea is a massive problem because Zenit will play through the compact middle of the park all day long and they tend to take a lot of joy from it too. Unirea will work hard and love to upset the odds but I just can't see how they'll manage it today. My sole concern for Zenit is that they'll revert to an overly defensive stance and not push at Unirea when they're clearly under-strength. If that happens, Zenit may not get the goal that I think they really should go for. Zenit will have a tough job to beat Arlauskis in the Unirea goal, who is arguably the best goalkeeper in the Romanian Liga currently. Nonetheless, Zenit have the ability to win this game and if they perform as I expect them to by controlling possesion then I expect them to win this game without conceding at generous odds of 31/20.

Verdict: Zenit St.Petersburg to win to nil at 31/20.

Zenit are very much back on the up this season. Seems a good bet

zenit 1.84 away? no way!

only 2000 tickets sold till now and the match is not on tv in romania ,shocking news

Zenit should win this comfortably.

Unirea are very poor. Romanian league is weak.

spalletti head manages them now, he likes to play quick pass attacking football. They could go far this year

zenit now 1.96, worth a shot with potential for a lot of goals in them

dunno arsenalman but i just saw em at 1.99 and had a bit

Avocado...that was before they lost Petrescu

These two legged ties can be tricky because Zenit don't actually need to win this game. They could get a draw in Romania and then finish them off in Russia.

nah aint looked that far mate.


I cant wait for this game to start, im a fan of zenit love the way they play

thats exactly what im doing

will be nearer KO

ffs just realised its at 6:30

i agree about zenit ive been impressed this far and away best team in russia  im on overs @2.54

yup every punter wants a piece of zenit this evening

www.fromsport.com/v-0/2/40/v-24020.html

www.fromsport.com/v-0/2/42/v-24221.html

www.fromsport.com/v-0/2/42/v-24222.html

how has the game started?