- KuPS Palloseura have won two and lost three of their last five matches in all competitions, beating VPS 3-1 in their last home game.
- Universitatea Craiova have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five games, losing 5-1 in their latest away match, against FC Dinamo Bucuresti, before drawing 2-2 with Levski Sofia.
Craiova’s positive football should win out in Finland
Universitatea Craiova are slight favourites at 2.1 for their UEFA Europa League qualification 2026 clash with KuPS Palloseura, who are priced at 3.4, with the draw available at 3.35 in this first leg.
Miika Nuutinen has done a solid, if unspectacular, job since taking over as head coach on 1st January 2026. His team have been patient, but have shown the ability to play with pace when necessary, within a controlled-possession, compact system.
Jaime Moreno, who has two goals in KuPS's last five, has been the main spark in the attacking third, but the rest of the side have not quite been able to contribute to the goal count as regularly as they need to.
Universitatea Craiova play a similarly positive brand of football, Filipe Coelho's 4-3-3 system, which features high full-backs and an advanced pressing line, has been in place since he took over as coach on 11th November 2025.
The visitors' last away match resulted in a 5-1 defeat to FC Dinamo Bucuresti in Liga I 2026/2027, but the game after that was a 2-2 draw against Levski Sofia in UEFA Champions League qualification, so the side should not be overlooked.
Cagey contest expected
KuPS have two wins and two defeats from their previous four home games, so it's hard to see them getting a result against such good opposition and so soon after back-to-back defeats to Sabah FK in UEFA Champions League qualification.
Craiova's away record in 2026 isn't fantastic either, with one win, one draw and two defeats from four attempts, but they have scored and conceded an average of just 1.25 and 1.75 goals per game respectively, which suggests we should expect a tight battle.
The Under 2.5 goals market, at 1.82, and Both Teams To Score - No, at 1.98, both look attractive propositions for this game, although the visitors' form is slightly better.
Universitatea have won six, drawn two and lost just two of their previous 10 in all competitions, so Craiova's consistency should see them edge out a close match against a decent but not outstanding KuPS side.
