There is just one hurdle standing between Aberdeen and Europa League football, as the Scottish outfit prepare to host FCSB in the first leg of their qualifying playoff.
Last season’s Scottish Cup winners qualified for the Europa Conference League a couple of years ago, and the Dons gave a relatively good account of themselves.
However, returning to the continental stage will not be easy considering the Romanian side are no pushovers, and they will be looking to display their European pedigree at Pittodrie Stadium.
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Aberdeen vs FCSB prediction: Both sides in mixed form
Key stats
- Aberdeen have lost their first two games of the new Scottish Premiership season.
- FCSB have only won two of their last eight competitive matches.
- Aberdeen have qualified for the main draw of a European competition once since 2008.
- FCSB's last trip to Scotland took place last season, as they were beaten 4-0 by Rangers in a Europa League fixture.
Correct score prediction: Aberdeen 1-1 FCSB
Both these teams head into Thursday’s opening leg on the back of some poor domestic results.
Aberdeen, for instance, kicked off their Scottish Premiership season with a couple of 2-0 defeats away at Hearts and at home against Celtic. In fact, their only success this season was a 3-0 win over Morton in the League Cup.
FCSB are also struggling for early-season form. The Romanian champions are winless in their last four league games, and they also suffered a disappointing Champions League qualifying campaign.
With all that in mind, we are backing the first leg to end in a draw. While that may not be the ideal result for Aberdeen, their Romanian opponents would certainly take a lot of positives into the reverse fixture.
Aside from Aberdeen vs FCSB, we have a wide selection of Europa League predictions on our website.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Bookmakers expect close encounter
- HOME: 7/5 (2.4) – 41.7%
- DRAW: 12/5 (3.4) – 29.4%
- AWAY: 9/5 (2.8) – 35.7%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
Aberdeen are the expected winner of this clash, with the bookmakers giving the hosts a win probability of 41.7%, with FCSB given a slight chance of picking up an away win in Scotland.
You can find all our predictions for today's games on our football betting tips page.
Most recent H2Hs: First meeting on the cards
Both these clubs have previously made their mark on the continent, with Aberdeen beating Real Madrid to win the Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1983 and FCSB winning the European Cup against Barcelona three years later.
Despite all that history, these two great clubs have never previously crossed paths.
Aberdeen preview: Dons looking to shake off domestic woes
Two games into the new Scottish Premiership season, and Aberdeen are yet to get a single goal on the board. Nevertheless, the Dons will be looking to resurrect some of the form which helped to cup-winning success last season.
The club recently confirmed their squad for the first leg, with key absentees including Kristers Tobers, Emmanuel Gyamfi, Kenan Bilalovic, Peter Ambrose, Slobodan Rubezic and Marko Lazetic.
Predicted lineup: Mitov (GK), Devlin, Milne, Dorrington, Jensen, Nielsen, Shinnie, Keskinen, Aouchiche, Milanovic & Yengi
Scotland Premiership 11/05/25
L
Rangers
4
Aberdeen
0
Scotland Premiership 03/05/25
L
St Mirren
1
Aberdeen
0
Scotland Premiership 26/04/25
W
Hibernian
0
Aberdeen
1
Scotland FA Cup 19/04/25
W
Hearts
1
Aberdeen
2
Scotland Premiership 13/04/25
D
Rangers
2
Aberdeen
2
FCSB preview: Romanian champions struggling with injuries
Similarly to Aberdeen, FCSB have also struggled for results in their domestic competition, failing to win any of their last four league games.
Injuries have played a big part in the run, with the likes of Mihai Toma and Alexandru Stoian remaining on the sidelines. In better news for the visitors, Alexandru Pantea and Daniel Birligea have recently recovered from their injuries and are available for selection.
Predicted lineup: Tarnovanu (GK), Pantea, Popescu, Ngezana, Cretu, Chiriches, Sut, Cisotti, Edjouma, Miculescu & Birligea
Romania Liga I 11/05/25
W
Universitatea Cluj
0
FCSB
2
Romania Liga I 05/05/25
W
Dinamo Bucharest
1
FCSB
3
Romania Liga I 27/04/25
W
Rapid Bucuresti
1
FCSB
2
Romania Liga I 20/04/25
W
CFR Cluj
2
FCSB
3
Romania Liga I 13/04/25
D
CS U Craiova
0
FCSB
0
Player to watch: Daniel Birligea
FCSB have struggled for results so far this season, but if they are to break that trend, Daniel Birligea will likely play a big part.
The striker produced his best numbers last season, scoring 17 goals across all competitions and helping his side to two trophies.
Aberdeen’s defence are likely to be doing a lot of homework on Birligea ahead of Thursday’s tasty encounter.