Jablonec vs. CFR Cluj: Preview and betting tips

Jablonec will take on CFR Cluj in the first round of the Conference League in Group D. Can Petr Rada’s charges cope with the Romanian opponent or will the Romanian Ligue 1 champion take all the points?

CFR Cluj has experienced a similar journey as Czech champion Slavia. The only difference is that it started in the first round of the Champions League. First they knocked out Borac Banja Luka, in the second round they beat Lincoln.

But in the third round they fell out with Young Boys Bern, and they also failed to make the Europa League play-off against Belgrade, so they will play only the Conference League instead of the Champions League.

For Jablonec, the promotion to the new competition is a success. The northerners could have fought for the Europa League, but they couldn’t beat Celtic. However, they literally crushed Žilina in the Conference League preliminary round, beating the Slovakian opponent 5-1 at home and 3-0 away.

However, Petr Rada’s charges are not doing well in the domestic competition. Last weekend, Jablonec finally won for only the second time in seven league matches and with eight points they have broken away from the bottom of the table. At the moment, however, they still find themselves in an unflattering 11th place, which guarantees a relegation group.

CFR suffered their first league defeat at the weekend, losing 0-1 away to Botosani. However, they won their remaining 7 matches and are now top of the table with 21 points.

Cluj is a rather experienced team, moreover, tested by European cups in recent years. It can be expected that the duel in Jablonec will be watched and not lost.