Armenian Champions Ararat-Armenia Head to Romania for Crucial Europa League Playoff

Armenian reigning champions Ararat-Armenia have traveled to Romania for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League qualifying playoff. The departure was confirmed by the Yerevan club's press service.

The highly anticipated away match will take place on August 20, with kick-off scheduled for 21:00 Yerevan time. The Armenian squad will go head-to-head with Romania's champions, Universitatea Craiova.

The Yerevan Club's European Journey

Ararat-Armenia transitioned to the Europa League after being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League. In the third qualifying round of Europe's premier club competition, the Armenian team fell to Slovenian champions Celje, recording 2:1 and 0:2 results.

Prior to that setback, the Armenian club successfully navigated the previous two qualifying rounds, eliminating the following opponents:

• Latvian champions Riga (2:0, 2:3),
• Irish side Shamrock Rovers (2:0, 1:2).

Thanks to these crucial victories, Ararat-Armenia has already secured at least a spot in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

The Opponent's Track Record

Romania's Universitatea Craiova also began their European campaign in the Champions League. In the first qualifying round, they knocked out Belarusian side Vitebsk, but in the subsequent stage, they lost to Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia, dropping down to the Europa League.

Following two matches in the previous Europa League round, the Romanian team overcame Finland's KuPS with aggregate-building scores of 1:1 and 2:1.