Romanian champions CFR Clug host Armenia’s Pyunik Yerevan on Tuesday for their second leg Champions League first qualifying round fixture. The first leg ended nil-nil leaving the two group stage hopefuls with everything to play for on Tuesday.
Cluj dominated the first leg versus Pyunik Yerevan with 16 shot attempts to five. Five of those 16 attempts hit the target and Cluj also hit the post once.
Vestiarul nostru e pregătit de meci! 🏟️⚽Hai și tu pe stadion! 🚂 @ Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu — at Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu https://t.co/aGLEvfaYDv— CFR 1907 Cluj (@CFR_1907_Cluj) April 14, 2019
Vestiarul nostru e pregătit de meci! 🏟️⚽Hai și tu pe stadion! 🚂 @ Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu — at Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu https://t.co/aGLEvfaYDv
The Romanians will begin their domestic campaign next weekend. Despite not playing league fixtures, Cluj are the better team and should show it once more in the second leg.
Pyunik Yerevan are the Armenian Premier League champions. They Armenians do not have a strong historical record in the UEFA Champions League. Pyunik Yerevan have an all-time record of 8W-8D-19 losses in the competition.
Eight players have joined Cluj this offseason already. New-boy Vito Hammershoy-Mistrati joined from Randers and started the first leg. Hammershoy-Mistrati didn’t finish the fixture and may not be fully fit to play the second leg.
Jefte Bentancor also joined the club this summer. The forward signed from Farul. He came on as a substitute in the first leg and is now in line to start for Cluj in the second leg.
The Romanians played in the UEFA Europa Conference League last season. Gabriel Debeljuh tallied a team leading 16 goals in both the Romanian Liga 1 and Europa League. The Croatian forward will expect to start versus Pyunik Yerevan in the second leg.
Pyunik Yerevan have made a number of signings this offseason to improve the team’s chances of making the Champions League groups stage and winning the Armenian league once more.
Centre-forward Yussuf Otubanjo was one of the club’s big signings. He joined from league rival Ararat Armenia. Otubanjo was formerly on the books at Atletico Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg. He has been a travelling forward seeking a home in recent seasons.
Otubanjo scored 29 goals in 72 matches for Ararat Armenia. If Pyunik Yerevan are to have a chance at winning this tie, Otubanjo will need to have a big game, if he plays. The striker started in attack in the first leg.
Cluj have more positive experience in recent UEFA competitions. The Romanians are coming off of playing the domestic Super Cup match last weekend. Cluj lost 2-1 to Sepsi, but they can be forgiven for looking ahead to Tuesday’s Champions League match.
Although Cluj are coming off of a loss, they should gain a narrow home 1-0 win versus Pyunik Yerevan on Tuesday. The win will send Cluj into the second qualifying round of the competition.