What opponents can the University of Craiova have in the UCL preliminaries » First seed in the 1st round, then increasingly difficult

Filipe Coelho's team will enter the 1st round of the UCL preliminaries with a coefficient of 10,500, which would place them somewhere in the middle of the first value urn. And it would make the first round opponent a handy one for the blue and white.

University of Craiova, seeded in the 1st round of the Champions League preliminaries

On a current simulation, among the most complicated opponents would be Levski Sofia (champion of Bulgaria) or Sabah FK (champion of Azerbaijan).

With whom the University of Craiova could play in the 1st round of the UCL:

• Inter Club d'Escaldes (Andorra)

• Levski Sofia (Bulgaria)

• Ararat-Armenia (Armenia)

• Differdange 03 (Luxembourg)

• Vllaznia (Albania)

• Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

• Kauno Zalgiris (Lithuania)

• Sutjeska Niksic (Montenegro)

• ETO Gyor (Hungary)

• Iberia 1999 (Georgia)

• Floriana (Malta)

• Three Flowers (San Marino)

• Vardar Skopje (North Macedonia)

• ML Vitebsk (Belarus)

The draw for the first round takes place on 16 June 2026, and the matches are played on 7-8 July and 15-16 July respectively.

Harder in round 2

If they reach the 2nd round of the UCL, the Oltenians would miss the presence in the seeded box, which means that they would have a more complicated opponent in this round.

Who could Craiova University play in the 2nd round:

• Red Star (Serbia)

• Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

• Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)

• Lech Poznan (Poland)

• NK Celje (Slovenia)

• Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus)

• Shamrock Rovers (Ireland)

• KuPS Kuopio (Finland)

• Hapoel Beer Sheva (Israel)

• FC Drita (Kosovo)

• Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar)

• FK Borac Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

The draw for round 2 takes place on June 17. The matches are played on July 21-22 and July 28-29 respectively.

Craiova University can be seeded in the 3rd round

If it reaches the third round of the UEFA Champions League preliminaries, the University of Craiova has a chance to win the favorite's ballot. But he has to mess up the paper calculations. They have to catch a team in the 2nd round that will be seeded in the 3rd round and eliminate it. Otherwise, grab the second urn.

• If the Olten beat Red Star, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Lech Poznan, NK Celje or Omonia Nicosia in the 2nd round and qualify, then they would be seeded in the 3rd round. And the opponents would be, if the calculation on paper is respected, Shamrock Rovers, KuPS Kuopio, Hapoel Beer Sheva, FC Drita, Lincoln Red Imps or FK Borac Banja Luka.

• If in the 3rd round they are in the second urn, Craiova's opponent will be chosen from Steaua Rosie, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Lech Poznan, NK Celje or Omonia Nicosia.

The draw for round 3 takes place on July 20. The tour takes place on August 4 and 5, returning on August 11.

The play-off is a nightmare for Craiova University

In the UEFA Champions League play-off, the Romanian champion will be in the second ballot. The opponent would be, if the paper calculation is respected and the favorites go ahead, one of: Red Star, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Lech Poznan or AEK Athens.

The play-off matches are drawn on August 3. It will be played on August 18-19, and the second leg on August 25-26.

I would say I'm proud, but if I have to choose one word, it's “players”. My children are here too. They are very important to me. It is not easy when you work abroad, to take your children there. I came here, now I am living a very happy moment.

To be honest, the goal was to win the championship, from what I spoke to the president. Then the players also won the Cup. Congratulations to them for what they have done. We take it step by step. Of course, that's fine. Players deserve a lot.

– Filipe Coelho, coach University of Craiova

The Europa League can be a bet

For Olteni, qualifying for the Europa League group would be an achievable goal. That's because the path to the play-offs is within reach. If they are eliminated in the 2nd round of the UCL preliminaries, the Craiova will reach the 3rd round of the Europa League preliminaries, where they would be seeded.

On a current simulation, the future opponent would choose between: Larne FC, Petrocub Hincesti, The New Saints, AGF Aarhus, FC Thun or Mjallby.

Access to the Europa League play-off secures the place in the Conference League group, so the Oltenians have very high chances to catch the group of the third European competition again. In the Europa League play-off, if more surprise results do not happen by which the favorites are eliminated, the University of Craiova would be in the second ballot.

And the opponent will choose from:

The draw for the play-offs takes place on 3 August and the matches are played on 20 and 27 August.