Rakow vs Univ. Craiova prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – League phase betting tips on match 2025-10-01 19:00.
[p]Raków Częstochowa have qualified for this stage of a European competition for just a second time, and take on UEFA Conference League (UECL) main draw debutants Universitatea Craiova of Romania.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Raków will hope that a last-gasp 1-0 win over Widzew Łódź will kick-start their season after ending a four-match winless run (D2, L2), while also keeping just their second league clean sheet of the campaign. It was also the 15th match of an already busy campaign for the Polish club, with their fixture list added to by coming through three qualifying rounds to book their spot in the league phase of the UECL (W5, L1). Marek Papszun’s men will now be hoping to fare better than their previous outing at this phase in continental football, when they suffered UEFA Europa League group stage elimination in 2023/24 (W1, D1, L4).[/p]
[p]That experience from two seasons ago might give them an advantage over Universitatea Craiova, who, since the original club was dissolved in 1991, have not progressed this far in a continental tournament. Like their opponents, three qualifying rounds were required to get this far, with a brilliant 5-2 aggregate play-off success over İstanbul Başakşehir securing an historic first appearance in the league phase. That form in Europe is backed up by some impressive recent domestic results, with Mirel Rădoi’s side sitting top of the Romanian SuperLiga, despite conceding late to draw 2-2 with Dinamo București last time out.[/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]This is the first time Raków will have faced Romanian opposition, while the same applies to Craiova with regard to taking on a team from Poland.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Just one of Raków’s last seven home European matches has seen both teams score.[/p]
[p]Raków have only scored one first-half goal in their last five fixtures.[/p]
[p]Of Craiova’s 17 matches this season, 12 have featured 3+ goals.[/p]
[p]Craiova have only kept one clean sheet in their last ten European away games (W2, D2, L6).[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Lamine Diaby-Fadiga scored Raków’s late winner on Sunday and came off the bench to score three times in five European appearances this season. Craiova’s top scorer this season is Steven Nsimba, who has netted seven times across all competitions, while also winning 29 of the last 35 games in which he has been on target (D4, L2).[/p]
[p]The hosts are without captain Zoran Arsenić due to a broken leg, while long-term absentee Vladislav Kochergin remains sidelined. Their opponents do not appear to have any fresh injuries.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Balancing the hosts’ recent European home results and Craiova’s tendency to concede on the road in Europe means backing Raków to win to nil might be worth a chance.[/p]
[p][i]Author: Matt Jones[/i][/p]