Universitatea Cluj
- U Cluj finished third with 54 points.
- Cristiano Bergodi has made the Cluj-based side much more compact and transition-oriented since his appointment as head coach in October 2025, transforming their results and taking them into a tight race for the title.
- Bergodi’s men have pace wide and will bring on fresh legs to push forward in the second half.
Universitatea Craiova
- Craiova won the full-season SuperLiga table with 60 points.
- Filipe Coelho’s Craiova are likely to set up with a back five, with disciplined wing-backs and a defensive midfielder screening the central defenders.
- The Blue and Whites’ approach is to absorb pressure, which they will get plenty of from the free-flowing and transition-based U Cluj side.
Head-to-Head
- Universitatea Cluj and Universitatea Craiova go head-to-head in the 2025-2026 Cupa României final in a showdown of the SuperLiga’s top two and local rivals.
- The head-to-head record is fairly even across 12 meetings in all competitions, though Craiova hold a slight historical edge.
Key Players
- Assad Al-Hamlawi has scored crucial goals for Craiova in the play-offs and converted in shootouts.
- Dan Nistor, the veteran midfield orchestrator and set-piece taker, will control the game’s rhythm and could be decisive in a close match.
Betting Insights
- The bookmakers are very close in their odds for the two clubs, with Craiova the slight favorites at 2.43 to U Cluj’s 2.89, with a draw priced at 3.24.
- We’ll chance the visitors because of their superior form and the fact that the bookies have this close.
- The draw is the top pick for the correct score market, as the odds for Under 2.5 goals - available at 1.68 - suggest this will be a close, tense and cagey cup final.
Prediction
Both clubs have shown mental strength to win tough knockout matches on penalties so our pick for this one is a 1-1 draw or a narrow 2-1 success.
