FCSB vs Aberdeen Tips & Preview - Romanians to have the edge at home

By Tolu Shotade

26 Aug 2025

Tolu Shotade 26 Aug 2025

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FCSB hosts Aberdeen in their Europa League playoff second leg after a 2-2 draw.
Home advantage could favor FCSB, despite recent defensive issues.
Aberdeen's resilience showed in the first leg, but away struggles persist.

FCSB vs Aberdeen

FCSB welcome Aberdeen to Arena Nationala for the second leg of the UEFA Europa League playoffs, with the tie still perfectly balanced after a 2-2 draw in the first meeting.

Both teams will fancy their chances of gaining the upper hand and should serve up another thrilling contest. However, the hosts will be keen to make their home advantage count and are likely to come out on top.

FCSB News

While it was a solid result in the first leg, Steaua Bucharest will be disappointed to have thrown away a two-goal lead. They looked to be headed for a comfortable victory thanks to efforts from Daniel Birligea and Darius Olaru, but went on to concede a late equaliser.

Things have not been particularly smooth for FCSB, who suffered a 2-0 home defeat to FC Arges in a domestic fixture last weekend. However, Elias Charalambous’ team have won their last two home matches in Europe and will be keen to channel those performances on Thursday.

One of the recent issues for FCSB is a lack of discipline at the back, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches across all competitions. However, they have scored in three of the last four fixtures on this run, all of which have produced over 2.5 goals.

Aberdeen News

Aberdeen would have preferred to hold the advantage heading into the second leg, but will take the positives from their fightback in the first meeting. They went two goals down and looked to be heading for a defeat before second-half efforts from Dante Polvara and Ester Sokler earned them a share of the spoils.

The result means Aberdeen are still in the tie, although their recent form does not inspire much confidence, having failed to win four of their last five matches. Jimmy Thelin's team have also lost four of their last five away matches across all competitions.

Aberdeen often struggle to keep things tight at the back and are without a clean sheet in eight of their last 10 matches across all competitions. However, they have scored in seven of their nine matches, while seven of those fixtures have also produced over 2.5 goals.

Head to Head

Last week's first leg was the only previous meeting between FCSB and Aberdeen, with both teams battling to a 2-2 draw.

Verdict

FCSB v Aberdeen

With the tie still in the balance, FCSB and Aberdeen will head into the second leg believing they can claim the upper hand. Another thrilling contest could be on the cards and with both teams scoring and serving up over 2.5 goals in the first meeting, a repeat is expected here.

FCSB have won two of their last three home matches in European competition and should overcome Aberdeen, who often struggle on their travels.

Yes

Both Teams to Score

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FCSB

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