This match may not be the most eye-catching of all the Europa League ties happening on Thursday night but luckily for punters there is some money to be made on this match.
Astra Girgiu managed to beat West Ham United in the qualifiers to make it to the Europa League group stage but they have had an absolutely disastrous start to their Romanian Liga I title defence and currently sit in a lowly 11th position.
Following top of the table Steaua Bucharest’s win over Astra at the weekend, Steaua owner Gigi Becali, who themselves were thrashed by Manchester City in the Champions League qualifiers, said that Astra’s title hopes are already over and that they should now merely concentrate on the end-of-season playoffs.
Whilst it is odd for an owner to come out and make such comments on footballing matters, it is hard to deny that his statement rings true.
Austria Vienna on the other hand have made a good start to the 2016/17 Bundesliga campaign. They are third in the table and are just two points off top spot. Although Roma are no doubt favourites in Group E, if Austria Vienna carry on their good start to the season, they could take second spot and qualify for the knockout stages.
Despite the fact that Astra are at home, they are in a bit of a crisis and are highly unlikely to win here. The bookies give odds of 9/5 on an Austria Vienna win and this is too good to resist given the chasm between the two clubs at the moment.
See more Europa League tips here.