LIVE AEK Athens – Universitatea Craiova, for the qualification in the spring Conference League

In order to mathematically ensure its presence in the European spring, the University of Craiova has to win the duel in the sixth stage. A victory would take the Oltenians to 10 points, enough to stay in the first 24 places of the general ranking.

There is also the variant of qualification with a tie result. A point obtained in Athens would mean reaching the threshold of 8 points for Craiova, a total that could be enough to reach the round of 16, depending on the final configuration of the hierarchy.

The university can also advance in the event of a defeat, but this scenario assumes a series of favorable results in the other games. In the Conference League, positions 1-8 secure direct qualification to the round of 16, while 9-14 places them in the '16'. On the other hand, if AEK Athens wins, they will catch the Top 8 and avoid the extra round.

LIVE at 22:00 » AEK Athens – University of Craiova

AEK Athens – Universitatea Craiova, likely teams:

AEK Athens: Strakosha – Rota, Vida, Relvas, Pilios – R. Marin, Pineda – Koita, Ljubicic, Pereyra – L. Jovic
reserves: Angelopoulos, Brignoli, Chrysopoulos, Eliasson, Mantalos, Kosidis, Kutesa
Absent: Penrice, Zini, Pierrot, Gacinovic, Moukoudi (injured)
Coach: Marko Nikolic

University of Craiova: Isenko – Stevanovic, Romanchuk, Screciu – Mora, Cicâldău, Mekvabishvili, Teles, Bancu – Etim, Baiaram
reserves: S. Lung, L. Popescu, Al-Hamlawi, Mogoș, Băsceanu, Al. Crețu, L. Houri, D. Matei, D. Muntean, Nsimba, Fl. Ștefan
Absent: M. Rădulescu, T. Băluță (injured), Ad. Russian (suspended)
Coach: Filipe Coelho

Stadium: Agia Sophia “OPAP” (Athens)
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
ASSISTANT: Levan Varamishvili and Giorgi Elikashvili (Georgia)
VAR referee: Soren Storks (Germany)
Assistant VAR: Aleko Aptsiauri (Georgia)

It won't be an easy match, we also have a few absences, but we expect a full stadium and a positive atmosphere. We will face a strong team and a difficult mission awaits us. Craiova plays with three central defenders, has a good game on the counter-attack and likes to have possession. The odds are 50-50. We need maximum concentration, attention and energy. It will not be a celebration, but a battle. Răzvan Marin was in very good shape at the beginning, then a natural decline followed
– Marko Nikolic, AEK Athens coach

70.48 million eurosis worth the lot of those from AEK Athens, according to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, while that of the University does not exceed 25.9

It's more important than the previous game. We played well in the Conference, we met good teams. I think I represented Romanian football well in the Conference. We will try, but it is not good to put too much pressure on the players. We are facing a good team, we are certainly not equal. If you play for a draw, you will most likely lose. I still don't know if Romanchuk, Mora or Screciu will play. I will find solutions because we have. It's not an excuse that we don't have players
– Filipe Coelho, coach University of Craiova

The most interesting information before AEK Athens – Universitatea Craiova

• From the Greek team, the star Joao Mario (32 years old), former player at Inter, is not on the UEFA list. In the same situation are Mitoglou, Kaloskamis and Kolimatsis, the Nigerian Odubago and the Danish Jonsson.

• The offensive leader of the “double-headed eagle” is the Serbian Luka Jovic, transferred free of contract in August, after parting with AC Milan. He also played for Real Madrid, Fiorentina and Eintracht Frankfurt during his career. At 27 years old, the forward has 9 goals and an assist this season.

• AEK has 13 championship titles, the most recent in 2023, and 16 Greek Cups. The arena on which it plays has a capacity of approximately 32,000 seats and was inaugurated in 2022.

• After the 2nd place achieved last season, the team from Athens maintains the same position in the current season in the Greek championship, one point behind Olympiakos Piraeus, supported by a solid series: 10 successes and a draw in the last 11 official games.

• Universitatea Craiova and AEK Atena have previously faced each other in the third preliminary round of the Europa League, in 2019. The first leg, played in Craiova, ended with the Greeks' victory, score 2-0, in an “Ion Oblemenco” stadium populated exclusively with children, as a result of the suspension of the field after the incidents of the previous match, with Honved Budapest.

• The second leg took place on 15 August 2019, but not at the “Agia Sophia” (OPAP) arena, which will host the match, as the stadium was under construction at the time, but at “Olympic – Spyros Louis”, in a match played without spectators. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, a result that sent AEK into the Europa League play-offs, where “Enosi” would later be eliminated by Trabzonspor.

• Nicușor Bancu, Alexandru Cicâldău, Ștefan Baiaram and the goalkeeper Laurențiu Popescu can still be found in the Craiova University team from that time. On the other side, the only player left from the yellow-black formation is the captain Petros Mantalos, the author of two goals, one in each leg.

Conference League standings 2025-2026