Univ. Craiova vs AEK Athens will meet on Thursday, August 8, 2019, in the first leg of the Europa League preliminary round III, at the “Ion Oblemenco” stadium in Craiova.
U Craiova have not lost any matches in the Europa League
Univ. Craiova played 4 matches in the Europa League, managing to qualify in the third preliminary round without suffering any defeat. In the first round, the team coached by Corneliu Papură eliminated Səbail FK from Azerbaijan, 3-2 away to Baku (Alexandru Mateiu 12, Nicuşor Bancu 51, Mihai Roman II 67 – Aghabala Ramazanov 33, 82) and 3-2 at home, and in the third round passed by Honvéd Budapest, 0-0 away to Győr and 0-0 at home, 3-1 after executing the away shots. They scored in order: Djordje Kamber 0-0, Alexandru Ionita II 1-0 (goal), Bence Batik 1-0 (miss defended by Mirko Pigliacelli), Carlos Fortes 2-0 (goal), David Ngog 2- 1 (goal), Alexandru Cicâldău 3-1 (goal), Bence Bano-Szabo 3-1 (missed by Mirko Pigliacelli). Northern Ireland’s Arnold Hunter fell to his head after a fire broke out near him and the game was interrupted for 32 minutes. Oltenii risk playing without spectators at least one match and a fine of tens of thousands of euros, but there is also the possibility that by calling UEFA they can still have fans in the stands with AEK Athens.
- Univ. Craiova probable team(4-3-3): Pigliacelli – Martić, Acka, Kelić, Bancu – Cicâldău, Mateiu, A. Ivanov – Bărbuţ, M. Roman II, Vătăjelu
AEK played in the Champions League groups last season
AEK Athens could not defend its title, ranking 3rd in the 2018-2019 season, with 57p, after PAOK Thessaloniki 80p and Olympiakos Piraeus 75p. The team coached by the Portuguese Miguel Cardoso will play in the third round of the Europa League with the University of Craiova, the first round to take place on August 8 in Romania, and the return on August 15 in Greece. A year ago, “Kitrinómavri” eliminated it in the preliminary round of the Champions League with Celtic Glasgow, 1-1 away and 2-1 at home, and in the play-off passed by MOL Vidi FC Székesfehérvár , 2-1 away and 1-1 at home. The Greeks reached Group E, where they had 0p in 6 matches in which they were beaten by Bayern Munich, Ajax Amsterdam and Benfica Lisbon.
- AEK Athens probable team (4-2-3-1): Barkas – Bakakis, Chygrynskiy, Oikonomou (Vranješ), Hult – Krstičić, André Simões – Green, Livaja, Deletić – Nélson Oliveira
AEK Athens matches in European Cups against Romanian teams
- 1977-1978: ASA Targu Mures vs AEK Athens 1-0 and 0-3 (UEFA Cup, Round I)
- 1979-1980: FC Arges Pitesti vs AEK Athens 3-0 and 0-2 (European Champions Cup, Round I)
- 2009-2010: FC Vaslui vs AEK Athens 2-1 and 0-3 (Europa League, play-off)
- 2019-2020: Craiova University vs AEK Athens (Europa League, Tour III)
Univ. Craiova matches in European Cups
- 2017-2018: Craiova University vs AC Milan 0-1 and 0-2 (Europa League, round 3)
- 2018-2019: RB Leipzig vs Univ. Craiova 3-1 and 1-1 (Europa League, round 3)
- 2019-2020: Səbail FK vs Univ. Craiova 2-3 and 2-3 (Europa League, Round 1)
- 2019-2020: Honvéd Budapest vs Univ. Craiova 0-0 and 0-0, 1-3p (Europa League, Round 2)
- 2019-2020: Univ. Craiova vs AEK Athens (Europa League, Round 3)
U Craiova vs AEK Athens Picks
The Greeks are favored, because they have more valuable players and the advantage of playing the return match at home, on the “Spyros Louis” stadium. The winning team will play in the play-off with the winner between Sparta Prague and Trabzonspor. The Greek Championship is still on holiday, with AEK Athens playing on August 24 at home with Xanthi. The guests have no official matches, while the hosts already have 8. It will be a balanced match in which it is expected not to score many goals. The “yellow-blacks” would be satisfied with an equal, while the “white-blue” would have to force the victory, to have a chance of qualification in the return from Athens next Thursday.
Our Prediction: No
Odds: 1.91
