Both FCSB and Drita got relegated to the Europa League qualifiers after their unconvincing performances last week. Will the Romanian champions struggle against yet another modest opposition?
The 28-time Romanian champions and former European Cup winners enter this clash with four consecutive defeats across all competitions, and Elias Charalambous’ time at the club may be coming to an end if they somehow fail against Drita too. FCSB have won just two of their eight games since the start of the season.
Meanwhile, the season is yet to start in Kosovo, so our only evidence for Drita’s form is their performance in Europe. The four-time champions overcame Luxembourg’s Differdange in the opening round of the Champions League qualifications, but got a bad draw against Copenhagen. As expected, they lost both legs, but we still have to note that they only lost 3-0 on aggregate, which can be considered a positive.
There is nothing to report, as this will be the first clash between these two sides. Let’s see how the first leg plays out.
Charalambous will be forced to move around some injuries and suspensions, as the usual captain Darius Olaru remains sidelined. Additionally, Florin Tanase will be forced to stay out due to a suspension, after scoring a hat-trick in the domestic league during the weekend.
With all this in mind and this clash being in the early days of the season, it’s difficult to predict which player will step up and deliver. Our best bet is Juri Cisotti, who had four goal involvements in the four CL qualification matches.
Probable line-ups
FCSB: Tarnovanu, Radunovic, Popescu, Graovac, Cretu, Miculescu, Sut, Chiriches, Popescu, Cisotti, Birligea.
Drita: Maloku, Ovouka, Mesa, Bejtulai, Krasniqi, Dabiqaj, Broja, Ajzeraj, Krasniqi, Manaj, Limaj.
