In this week 21 match, on Sun Dec 18th, UTA Arad hosts Rapid Bucuresti in a meeting of these two extremely mismatched Liga 1 teams. In their last match, UTA Arad recorded a 0-0 scoreless draw against Universitatea Cluj. Universitatea Cluj had 15 on net, and UTA Arad had 7, but no one could beat the goalie, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw,. UTA Arad looks to improve on their recent performance, having earned only 3 points in their last 10 matches, while rapid Bucuresti sits at 3rd place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 3-1 win against Petrolul 52. Marko Dugandžić struck first for Rapid Bucuresti in the 9th minute on a penalty, then Gheorghe Grozav tied it up for Petrolul 52 in the 61st minute on a penalty. Rapid Bucuresti is looking for direction having earned 16 points in their last 10 matches.
In their last match together, Rapid Bucuresti won by a score of 1 to 0. Junior Maranhão struck first for Rapid Bucuresti in the 17th minute, and that was all the excitement the two teams could muster In the end, UTA Arad was frustrated by Rapid Bucuresti’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Rapid Bucuresti ended the match with the shutout victory.
Rapid Bucuresti is glad to have Marko Dugandžić in top form. In the last 5 matches the attacker has scored 5 goals. Philip Otele has been the most prolific scorer on UTA Arad in his last 5 matches with 2 goals.