AEK Athens vs Universitatea Craiova Prediction and Betting Tips | December 18th 2025

AEK Athens will host Universitatea Craiova at the OPAP Arena on Thursday in the final round of the 2025-26 UEFA Conference League league phase. The home side are in excellent form at the moment and are one win away from securing direct passage to the last 16 of the Conference League, as they sit fourth in the table with 10 points.

AEK suffered a 3-1 defeat to NK Celje in their tournament opener back in October, but have since turned things around, most recently claiming a 2-1 comeback win away at Samsunspor, with Răzvan Marin and Aboubakary Koita both on target in the second half. They then followed that up with a 5-0 dismantling of Panetolikos in domestic action on Sunday and will return to their home patch this week in high spirits.

Universitatea Craiova, meanwhile, have endured mixed results on the continental stage this season and require a win on Thursday to advance to the knockout phase playoffs, although a draw could also be enough depending on other results.

After picking up wins over Rapid Wien and Mainz 05 in the third and fourth rounds respectively, Craiova suffered a setback last week as they lost 2-1 to Sparta Praha. Finding themselves a goal down early after the restart, Alb-albaștrii looked set to earn a point following Steven Nsimba's late equalizer before their opponents reclaimed the lead at the death.

AEK Athens vs Universitatea Craiova Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• Thursday's game will mark the third meeting between AEK and Craiova.
• The two teams faced off for the first time during the 2019-20 Europa League qualifiers, with the hosts winning the two-legged tie 3-1 on aggregate.
• AEK are the highest-scoring side in the Conference League this season with 11 goals in five matches.
• Both sides have conceded five goals apiece in the Conference League this season.

AEK Athens vs Universitatea Craiova Prediction

Dikéfalos are firm favourites heading into Thursday’s game, having won their last eight matches in a row, and will only need to stay focused to continue their impeccable run of results.

Universitatea Craiova have also performed well recently, losing just one of their last seven games across all competitions. They have been solid on the road lately but could face defeat against an inspired AEK side this week.

Prediction: AEK Athens 2-1 Universitatea Craiova

AEK Athens vs Universitatea Craiova Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: AEK Athens

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Four of the hosts' last five matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: Yes

Edited by Ashwin