Europa League lowdown: CFR Cluj

CFR CLUJ

League position: 3rd in Liga 1
Form: W W W D L
Top-scorer: Gabriel Debeljuh, Mario Rondon (4)
Last time out in UEL Group A: CFR Cluj 1-1 Young Boys

Their season so far: The three-time reigning Romanian champions haven’t had things all their way recently and coach Dan Petrescu cut a frustrated figure in the pre-match build-up.

His team have been called into question after suffering their first league defeat of the season on Sunday - a 2-1 loss at home to Gaz Metan - and the former Romania international’s future has been a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks.

The Cluj boss was forced to deny talks of a move to Russia and internal rifts in his press conference, but confirmed he is looking forward to a break from football when the domestic league pauses after his side’s match with Agres this coming weekend.

But before he can recharge those batteries, Petrescu has a seriously tough visit to the Olimpico to worry about and his cause hasn’t been helped by injuries and coronavirus which - the 52-year-old former Foggia and Genoa defender says - leaves him with 15 fit first-team players for the trip to Rome.

In particular, there are concerns in defence with three centre-backs missing on Thursday: Andrei Burca, Mike Cestor and Paulo Vinicius.

It leaves Denis Ciobotariu as Petrescu’s only fit out-and-out central defender, putting a great deal of responsibility on the 22-year-old’s shoulders as he prepares to make his European debut.

Cluj do, however, have a fully-fit front three of Ciprian Deac, Debeljuh and Rondon, who have scored seven goals in Europe this season across Champions League and Europa League qualifying, as well as the opening two rounds of Group A.

And Cluj have started the group stage in fine fashion, pipping Roma to top spot on goal difference thanks to a 2-0 win at CSKA Sofia and 1-1 draw with Young Boys last time out; with Rondon finding the back of the net in both games.

What they've said:

“Against the Giallorossi it will be a very, very difficult match, which we will play with 15 gladiators, let's say.

“My team deserves more respect from everyone after everything they’ve done. I've been saying this for a long time, we're not respected enough.” - Coach Dan Petrescu