CS Universitatea Craiova VS Petrolul Ploiesti

Universitatea Craiova return home aiming to respond after a disappointing defeat in their previous league outing, while Petrolul Ploiești arrive with renewed confidence following a positive start to the new SuperLiga campaign. Universitatea Craiova opened their league season with an emphatic 4-0 victory over UTA Arad before suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat away to Dinamo București. Despite that setback, they had previously enjoyed encouraging performances, beating Levski Sofia 1-0 and ML Vitebsk 1-0 while also overcoming Universitatea Cluj on penalties after a 1-1 draw, showing they are capable of controlling matches when their structure remains intact. The hosts are at their best when they dominate possession and increase the tempo through quick combinations around the penalty area. Their attacking quality remains one of their biggest strengths, although defensive concentration has occasionally let them down when opponents exploit spaces during transitions.