- Team form: Universitatea Craiova have won three, drawn four and lost three of their last ten games in all competitions (W3, D4, L3).
- Opponents form: FC Ararat-Armenia have won six, drawn one and lost three of their last ten matches in all competitions (W6, D1, L3).
- Away form: Universitatea Craiova have taken two draws and two defeats from four away games in all competitions this season.
Craiova looking to exploit counter in Armenia
FC Ararat-Armenia drew 1-1 away against Universitatea Craiova in the UEFA Europa League Qualification 2026 first leg and the tie looks finely poised ahead of Thursday's return match at the Republican Stadium – Vazgen Sargsyan in Armenia.
Craiova are 1.95 to advance to the next round, which is more than fair odds for the visitors as they've been patchy this season with three wins, four draws and three defeats in their last ten. Ararat-Armenia are a decent 3.95 to progress, but our view is that the 3.5 draw market looks the most attractive because this match should be tight with the hosts having won all of their four home games in all competitions this campaign, conceding just two goals.
Structured Ararat-Armenia can make Craiova counter
Hosts' organisation
Tulipa has Ararat-Armenia organised and compact, transitioning from a pragmatic 4-3-3 base in which they control the middle third. The hosts are adept at keeping the ball and making a quick counter, where they can cause problems.
Visitors' shape
Filipe Coelho has Craiova pressing higher up the field and playing through a wing-back-driven 3-back shape that gets a lot of their players forward. The wing-backs are key to their game as the White-Blues squeeze teams, create problems on the flanks and then hit men in space.
Tactical matchup
That should set up a control vs transitions fixture and with both teams having different but effective tactical approaches, this match could easily go either way.
Goals could be at a premium
We wouldn't want to back either side outright given the stalemate in the first leg and the fact that Universitatea have just 0.75 goals per game on the road this term, but Under 2.5 goals is an obvious play at 1.95 with both sides favouring a compact setup.
Both Teams To Score – Yes is also tempting at 1.67 for those that prefer to take the underdog odds. Alexandros Malis is Ararat-Armenia's top scorer in UEFA Europa League Qualification 2026 with one goal in one game, while Carlos Mora has bagged one goal in three for Craiova. Both can cause each other problems so it is worth chancing both to get on the scoresheet.
