Romania vs Albania Betting Tips & Predictions

Romania will be disappointed that they couldn’t hold on on Wednesday. Despite Switzerland having the majority of the attacking play in the opening portion of the game Romania found an unlikely opener through Bogdan Stancu’s second penalty of the tournament, and the stoic defending we saw against France resumed as they looked to hold Switzerland off for the remaining 72 minutes of the game.

It was always going to be a difficult task, but as Switzerland continued to squander attacking plays and the first half drew to a close Romania will have undoubtedly felt that it was a possibility. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be as Mehmedi struck the equaliser 12 minutes after the break. Both teams pushed on for a win after that as they searched for a vital three points in the race for automatic qualification, but neither could find the answer and were left with a point apiece.

It’s not all over for Romania though. A win against Albania would send them up to four points and at least a 0 goal difference, and if Switzerland lose to France that would keep them on four points and reduce them to a 0 goal difference or worse. It’s entirely possible that Romania could take 2nd position at the end of play on Sunday.

First they need a win though, and Albania have proved that they are no pushovers so far despite losing both matches. Their game against Switzerland saw them conceded early on through a nervy goalkeeping error, but they more than held their own in that match as they remained organised at the back and even had a few chances themselves.

Their match against host nation France saw them set up with a more defensive 4-5-1 system, and it worked for the majority of the match. They crowded the talented French attack out, and although the French could point to a number of lucky near misses for Albania they were a very impressive side defensively. It took until the 90th minute for substitute Antoine Griezmann to find some space in the box and flick home Adil Rami’s cross, and the second goal from Dimitri Payet only came because Albania were pushing forward so much.

Albania will have Lorik Cana back from suspension on Sunday as well, which will do no harm to their defensive chances. However, Albania will be seeking to play a lot more adventurously on Sunday.

A win against Romania would push them up into 3rd and give them a genuine chance of qualifying for the knockout phase of the competition as one of the four best 3rd place finishers. A draw is highly unlikely to do it for them, but a win could well be enough.

Albania’s problem lies in the fact that they have only won two of their last eight matches, and the fact that Romania are desperate for three points as well.

The increased attacking necessity for both teams will undoubtedly open up holes in the defensive lines that have been so impressive up until now. Romania have only failed to score in one of their last ten games as well, so I fully expect them to breach the Albania defence. Romania have conceded in seven of these ten matches and in each of their last five though, and just a goal will mean the world to Albania in this tournament. They have managed to find the net in seven of their last nine games as well, so odds of 4/6 for Both Teams to Score look attractive to me given the high stakes. I’m backing Romania to get the win with a 2-1 correct score prediction at 17/2 as I just think they have the greater quality at both ends of the pitch.