Eastern European Football Leagues Resume on Saturday Afternoon
Published July 20, 2019 by Florin P
Eastern European leagues usher in the return of continental football with the reigning champions playing the opening matches on Saturday.
The most important Western European football leagues only resume at the beginning of August, but the action starts early on the Eastern front. Poland, Romania and Russia kickstart the football season with dozens of matches and the most exciting ones are scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Reigning champions and the main favorites to lift the trophy in 2020 play on this day providing great opportunities for punters.
Coin Flip Matches in the Polish Ekstaklasa
The Polish first division has some incredibly close matches scheduled for Saturday starting at p.m. UK time. Rakow makes its debut in the top flight against Korona Kielce and both teams have the objective of avoiding relegation this season. The hosts are narrow favorites, but punters should consider a bet on less than 2.5 to be scored at odds of 3/4. Neither team can afford to concede goals against the main rival.
Wisla Krakow and Slask Wroclaw play next, with bet365 Sports offering identical odds of 17/10 on either team to win. Their goal is to finish in the top half of the standings for a shot to play in the Europa League qualifiers. The highlight of the day is the match between Piast Gliwice and Lech Poznan, two teams with higher expectations for this season. This is another perfect coin flip with a high likelihood for a draw.
CSKA and Spartak Moscow Under Pressure
Last season was a total disappointment for CSKA and Spartak Moscow who finished outside the podium in the Russian Premier League. They can’t afford a similar outcome this year, so in order to start the season on the right foot, both need to win on Saturday afternoon. CSKA Moscow has a better chance at home against Orenburg, as reflected by the odds of 1/2 offered by 888 Sport.
Punters will enjoy significantly better odds if they bet on Spartak Moscow to win on the road against Rostov. The reason why Winner Sports offers such high odds on the visitors to prevail is that home pitch advantage has been extremely important in the series. Both teams have won the vast majority of the games played in front of their fans, with Spartak Moscow winning just five times at the Rostov Arena.
Time is Already Ticking for CFR Cluj
The reigning Romanian champions have had a lot of problems in the first official matches played this summer. They were largely disappointing in the domestic championship and struggled heavily in the Champions League qualifiers against Astana. On Saturday evening at 7 PM UK time they play on the road, but do so against a newly promoted team. Under these circumstances, odds of 7/10 at Intertops Sportsbook on CFR Cluj to pick up their first victory this season in the Romanian Liga 1 are quite good.
