Universitatea Cluj welcome Dynamo Kyiv to the Cluj Arena in Romania for the second leg of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round on Thursday. The first leg at Lubin Arena in Poland last Thursday ended goalless, so the teams have everything to play for in this decisive second leg.
Universitatea Cluj qualified for the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League by ending the 2025-26 Romanian SuperLiga season as the second-placed team, ahead of CFR Cluj but behind champions Universitatea Craiova.
U. Cluj are yet to begin the new league season, but they did take on rivals Universitatea Craiova in the Romanian Super Cup on Sunday, drawing 1-1 in regulation time before losing 5-3 in the penalty shootout.
The Red Caps will be focused on trying to win this tie at home, having done well to hold their Ukrainian opponents in their 'home' leg, although, due to the war in Ukraine, Dynamo Kyiv had to play the first leg in Poland.
Meanwhile, Dynamo Kyiv earned their place in the qualifiers for the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League as the winners of the Ukrainian Cup, beating Chernihiv 3-1 in the final at Arena Lviv on 20 May.
The new Ukrainian Premier League has not yet kicked off, but the Blue & Whites have been playing a selection of friendly matches to condition and fine-tune ahead of the new domestic season and these European qualifiers.
Dynamo Kyiv's most recent match was a 4-2 away win against Radomiak on 10 July.
The winning side will move on to the second round of the Europa League qualifiers, while the losing team will drop down into the UEFA Conference League main path second qualifying round to continue their European campaign.
Cluj are expected to be more aggressive and push higher up the pitch at home in search of the decisive goals in this tie. Dynamo Kyiv will likely prioritize an organized defensive structure, while counterattacking through their rapid and creative wide players.
After the draw in the first leg, we expect Dynamo Kyiv to secure a narrow away win and progress to the next round.
Prediction: Universitatea Cluj 0-1 Dynamo Kyiv
Tip 1: Dynamo Kyiv to win
Tip 2: Dynamo Kyiv to keep a clean sheet
Tip 3: Under 2.5 goals
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