Wednesday’s encounter between Cluj and Basel may be the opening game of Group E, but it is a fixture neither side can realistically afford to lose as defeat would all but eliminate them from the competition. Paired with Bayern Munich and Roma, it would take a huge turn up for either of these underdogs to progress, and that probably means winning both fixtures against their fellow ‘makeweights’.
Romanian outfit Cluj have tasted a shock win at this level before, surprising Roma 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico two seasons ago – a result they cannot count on repeating in this edition. Emmanuel Culio, who scored twice on that famous night, remains, but the form the Feroviarii showed that night has largely deserted them.
Cluj may be the champions of their homeland, but already their crown is starting to slip, falling six points off the pace when they lost 2-0 against Rapid Bucharest on Friday night. Defeat was to have lasting consequences for coach Andrea Mandorlini, who was jettisoned on Monday, replaced by Sorin Cartu, a double winner with Universitatea Craiova nearly two decades ago.
To expect a rapid turnaround may be asking too much, but the highly disciplined coach will be aiming to stamp his authority on CFR with immediacy. Should the trainer have the instant impact hoped for, it’s possible that Cluj’s Champions League campaign won’t be as unspectacular as it previously looked like being.
Strong On The Road
Basel are by no means Champions League regulars, having qualified for the group stages only twice previously, yet they are a side with a winning record amongst Europe’s elite, claiming 23 wins to 22 losses when placed in Europe’s top competition.
And they are a side who are no strangers to causing the odd upset either, charging through to the second group stage of the competition in season 2002-03 and drawing with Barcelona at Camp Nou in 2008-09, though on the second occasion they did lose all of their other five games in the tournament.
League defeats against Bellinzona and Luzern have rather blotted the early part of Basel’s campaign, which has otherwise passed unbeaten, with four wins from four matches recorded in qualifying for the Champions League group stages. Debrecen were comfortably eased off before Sheriff threatened to cause some problems but ultimately capitulated towards the end of their home leg.
The St. Jakob-Park club will have pinpointed this encounter as a match that will need to be won if they are to wriggle out of the group stage somehow. With bright young talent such as Valentin Stocker and especially Xherdan Shaqiri combining with old heads like Scott Chipperfield and the prolific Alexander Frei, there is a nice balance to the squad and a worthy sense of optimism that something could be achieved over the next three months.
TEAM NEWS
Cluj
Yssouf Kone has not been included in the Champions League squad after picking up a knee injury in early August that is liable to keep him out for an extended period of time. Sasa Bjelanovic is liable to be sidelined with an ankle issue.
Tomas Costa and Ferdinando Sforzini debuted at the weekend as CFR had two men sent-off – the second time in as many matches on the road they’ve been depleted to nine men for disciplinary reasons.
Probable Starting XI: Stancioiu; Panin, Cadu, Piccolo, Edimar; Muresan, E. Kone, Costa, Bastos, Culio; Sforzini
Basel
Jacques Zoua picked up a thigh problem on international duty and won’t return until early to mid-October. Genseric Kusunga has had knee issues for the last month, while Valentin Stocker is fighting to overcome an ankle injury.
Scott Chipperfield’s contribution from the bench at the weekend may be enough to earn him a berth in the starting XI ahead of Fwayo Tembo, though the Australian has struggled to break into the team this season and could be consigned to the role of impact substitute once more.
Probable Starting XI: Costanzo; Inkoom, Abraham, Çagdaş, Safari; Tembo, Huggel, Yapi, Shaqiri; Frei, Streller
Prediction
Cluj have a long unbeaten record in their domestic league at home – 40 matches stretching back nearly two years – but the Champions League is an additional step up. Basel have done well on their travels to date and should fancy their chances, though the chance of coaching at the Romanian club may be enough to spark some resistance from the home side.
CFR Cluj 1-2 Basel 
