Preview: Universitatea Craiova vs Getafe - prediction, team news, lineups

Getafe will be aiming to open their Conference League campaign on a winning note when they take on Universitatea Craiova on Thursday evening.

The La Liga outfit overcame Partizan in the playoff round to secure a spot in the league stage, while Craiova qualified for the Conference League after losing in the Europa League playoffs.

Match preview

Craiova lost to Ararat-Armenia in the Europa League playoff round, which saw them drop into the Conference League, and Thursday's match will be their 23rd fixture in this particular competition, boasting a record of nine wins, five draws and eight defeats from 22 games.

The Romanian champions finished 25th in the league phase of the 2025-26 Conference League, so there is plenty of room for improvement this term.

Brighton & Hove Albion will be their standout opponents in the league phase, while they will also take on Copenhagen, and it will be fascinating to see how Filipe Coelho's side perform.

Craiova will enter this match in excellent form, having won each of their last five matches in all competitions, including a 1-0 success over Csikszereda M. Ciuc in the league on Sunday.

The White-Blues have not actually lost in any competition since the end of August.

As for Getafe, the La Liga outfit will enter Thursday's European contest off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Barcelona in Spain's top flight.

The Deep Blue Ones are currently 14th in the La Liga table, boasting a record of two wins, two draws and four defeats from their eight league matches this term.

Jose Bordalas' side recorded a 4-3 aggregate win over Partizan in the Conference League playoff round, having qualified for that stage courtesy of their seventh-place finish in Spain's top flight last term.

Getafe have not played in Europe since the 2019-20 campaign, and they actually reached the last-16 stage of the Europa League in that season, losing to Inter Milan.

This will represent Getafe's first-ever campaign in the Conference League, so the Deep Blue Ones will create history on Thursday.

Universitatea Craiova form (all competitions):

Getafe Conference League form:

Getafe form (all competitions):

Team News

Craiova will be without the services of Pavlo Isenko and Monday Etim through injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape for the match.

Assad Al-Hamlawi has scored six times in 14 appearances this season, and the 25-year-old is again set to feature in a forward area.

Meanwhile, there should be another start for Stefan Bairam, who has come up with four goals in 18 appearances during the current campaign.

As for Getafe, Christantus Uche and Juanmi are out of the match due to injuries.

Enes Unal has scored twice in two appearances in the Europa League this season, and the forward should return to the side after missing out against Barcelona last time out.

Abdel Abqar and Martin Satriano are also expected to be introduced into the team.

Universitatea Craiova possible starting lineup:

Popescu; Romanchuk, Stevanovic, Screciu; Mora, Baluta, Cicaldau, Bancu; Matei, Al Hamlawi, Baiaram

Getafe possible starting lineup:

Soria; Femenia, Djene, Gudelj, Abqar, Mojica; Garcia, Francho, Martin, Satriano; Unal

We say: Universitatea Craiova 1-1 Getafe

Craiova are in good form and will be confident of picking up a strong result, but we are expecting Getafe to secure a share of the spoils on Thursday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.