Greece possess a superb record on home soil and will be eager to gain a first leg advantage over Romania in their World Cup qualifier tonight.
Neither side will have minded this draw when it was made; Portugal, Sweden, France and Croatia were all avoided, and now just two matches lie between one of them and a place at Brazil 2014.
The To Qualify market favours Friday’s hosts, a top price 8/11 to advance to the finals, and I see nothing wrong with the evens on offer about Greece to gain the upper hand in Athens on Friday.
Incredibly Greece finished their qualifying campaign with five consecutive victories, all without conceding a goal.
It wasn’t enough to overhaul Bosnia but Fernando Santos’ side are in a rich vein of form, despite never thrilling, and Romania will surely find it difficult to break down their opponents.
Orestis Karnezis kept five clean sheets in as many matches on home soil in the Greek goal and while Romania will carry more of a threat than the likes of Liechtenstein and Latvia, they are certainly no world-beaters.
Romania were no match for the Netherlands who breezed through the section but they do deserve credit for fending off the challenge of Turkey and Hungary in Group D to secure the runners-up spot.
The five goals scored by Getafe striker Ciprian Marica were crucial in finishing second, their standout result being a 1-0 triumph in Istanbul, Gheorghe Grozav the hero, and this new generation of Romanians have a bright future.
However, the passionate home support at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki tips this firmly in the favour of the experienced Greeks who perhaps now have a greater goal scoring threat themselves than in previous campaigns.
The Euro 2004 champions know how to get the job done and it is seven matches since they conceded a goal in the capital.
2pts Back Greece (vs. Romania) @ Evens (various)