- FCSB have lost three of their last five fixtures so have been a little unsteady in their recent rhythm.
- FK Auda's last five results have been a mixed bag of two wins, two draws and one defeat, but they did beat FCSB 3-2 in the first leg of this tie, so it does have a proper feel to it.
Auda to be a real threat on Thursday
The oddsmakers are edging towards FCSB for this UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026 qualifier, but Didier Zanetti's FK Auda are a long way from being just a number on paper. The Latvian champions are available at 11/4 to take the spoils in this clash and the draw is also 11/4, so neither option appeals at this stage, although there is a bit of value in Under 2.5 goals at 49/50 and both teams to score at 7/10.
Auda coach Zanetti, who took over on 1st January 2026, has a good team to work with and they are well drilled into a compact 4-1-4-1/4-5-1 block that has seen them score 1.50 goals per home game and concede just 1.00 in the process. They have won two, drawn one and lost one at home across all current competitions and seem to have more than enough momentum to make things tough for FCSB on Thursday.
The visitors are the narrow favourites at 87/100, which still looks a bit rich considering the result from the first-leg and that FCSB have won just one and lost three of their four away games across all competitions, conceding at a rate of 2.25 goals per away game.
Baciu’s men have been a bag of mixed results
FCSB have a record of five wins, one draw and four defeats from their last 10 across all competitions, which suggests there have been some real highs and lows during Marius Baciu's short tenure in charge. The Romanians are fast, wide and aggressive on the ball, but they can get a little disorganised when they are without it.
Barthelemy Diedhiou leads the way with one goal in one game for FK Auda in this competition, but Kader Kone looks the real livewire in the final third, with two goals in the last five games for the club. Aymen Boutoutaou has the same number of strikes for FCSB in this comp, so Baciu has a real edge-runner if he can get his team to play with some patience and width to get the ball into the striker's feet.
All the ingredients of a good contest are here and this tactical matchup screams control vs containment, so it will be interesting to see if FCSB can break through early on. If not, this could become a proper scrap.
