Universitatea Craiova

vs

FC Ararat-Armenia

Preview

Universitatea Craiova

• Universitatea Craiova have won five, tied two and lost three of their last ten matches across all competitions.
• Oltenii were impressive in their 2-1 first-leg win over KuPS but were frustrated to a 0-1 home defeat by FC Arges at the weekend.
• Craiova have won five, drawn one and lost only one of their seven home matches, though, so they usually get the job done on their own patch.

FC Ararat-Armenia

• FC Ararat-Armenia have won six and lost four of their last ten across all competitions with no ties.
• Ararat-Armenia will not be easy opponents, however, having picked up three wins in their last five, but the 2-0 defeat away to NK Celje in the previous qualification round showed up some frailty in the squad.
• Ararat-Armenia have scored seven times in their last four competitive away games so they have enough firepower to punish their opponents on the counterattack.

Key Players

• Carlos Mora has been their spark, registering three assists in the last five games and adding a goal from the previous round of Europa League qualifiers.
• Steven Nsimba has also been an important weapon for Filipe Coelho's men, notching three goals in the same period, as Craiova have registered nine goals in total.
• Tulipa has built a compact and energetic unit around structured buildup and quick combinations from a back four, but this clash of width against structure should see the home side attempt to force transitions.

Betting Insights

• Craiova have scored 2.71 goals per game on average at home, while conceding just 1.14, which tells us that their home record is more than respectable and they should have the edge up front.
• The home team are available at 1.45 and Ararat-Armenia at 7.1, so we're taking the shorter price on the home team to keep things tight for periods of the game in what should be a competitive game.