clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Steaua Bucharest--Villarreal: gamethread, how to watch

Cedric Bakambu returns, so now Roberto Soldado is our only player out through injury. Expect a number of rotations in this match from the last couple of lineups.

Maria José Segovia

How to watch:  The match is being televised by beINSport, but only on their online services (BeIN 1/HD, BeIN 2, BeIN SPORTS Connect) which require a subscription.   Movistar+ is showing it in Spain apparently.

If you can't watch, there is always Javi Mata and company on Radio Vila-real (http://www.radiovila-real.es/directo).

The match will be played at the beautiful National Arena in Bucharest, which holds 55,000.  I doubt it will be terribly full for this match.  Tickets cost 40 lei ($10) in the cheapest sections, 100 lei in the 'central tribuna'.  That is a lot more than regular league matches (10 lei and 50 lei, respectively), but this is their first home match in the competition, so perhaps that will bring out the supporters. They had 45,000 for the home playoff match against Manchester City in the CL; I suspect Villarreal in the EL will be a less exciting draw!

Villarreal's squad: Escriba gives a break to Manu Trigueros, Nicola Sansone, Victor Ruiz and Jaume Costa.

Our starting XI is: Andrés; Rukavina, Musacchio, Bonera, J.Ángel; N'Diaye, Bruno, Jonathan, Cheryshev; Pato y Santos Borré.

So, only the nine changes from the starting lineup on Sunday, then.  Perhaps more to the point, there are only two changes from the Villarreal lineup that faced Zurich in the EL, and that's Alvaro and Ruiz out at CB, Bonera (who was injured then) and Musacchio in.

Steaua Bucharest: Nita, Tamas, Moke, Tosca, Momcilovic, Bourceanu, Muniru, Popa, Boldrin, William and Golubovic (4-2-3-1)