Undermanned squad Armenia (0-1-0, 0 points) is scheduled to clash with tough team Romania (0-0-1, 1 point) at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan on Saturday, Oct. 8 as the second round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament continues.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. UTC+4. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Armenia lost their opening game in the tournament to stacked team Denmark, 0-1, on the road at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Sep. 4, via ESPN.
Christian Eriksen netted the lone goal in the match for the Danish side to hand the undermanned team of head coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan their first defeat right off the bat.
The Tottenham Hotspur winger pulled off a strike from an assist by teammate Viktor Fischer to beat Armenia goalkeeper Arsen Beglaryan.
The hosts dominated ball possession throughout the contest and peppered the visitors with attacks. If not for Beglaryan's effective defense in between the posts, the final score would have been more lopsided.
Armenia played without team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Manchester United midfielder suffered a leg injury in a previous friendly with the Czech Republic. Mkhitaryan is expected to miss this game versus Romania once again due to his poor fitness.
Meanwhile, 32-ranked Romania was held to a 1-1 draw by 105th-ranked Montenegro also on Sep. 4 in a match held at the Cluj Arena in Cluj-Napoca, as per SkySports.
Head coach Christoph Daum's squad struggled to find goals despite dominating almost the entire match.
Both sides were scoreless until Romania winger Adrian Popa found the back of the net at the 85th minute with a left-footed shot from center box.
However, the lead was short-lived as Montenegro striker Stevan Jovetic, who currently plays for Inter Milan, headed in the equalizer only two minutes later with the pass coming from teammate Damir Kojasevic following a set piece situation.
Even without Mkhitaryan, a close match is expected between Armenia and Romania with the latter prevailing in the end.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 1-0 win for Romania.
Armenia starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Beglaryan; Hayrapetyan, Haroyan, Mkoyan, Andonian, Hovhannisyan; Ozbiliz, Pizzelli, Malakyan, Manoyan; Kadymyan
Romania starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Tatarusanu; Benzar, Moti, Grigore, Filip; Sapunaru, Hoban; Bicfalvi, Stanciu, Stancu; Andone