FCSB need a win against Dinamo Zagreb today to hope for Europa League qualification. The match is played today, from 22:00, live on Digi and Prima.
DINAMO ZAGREB – FCSB 0-0 / LIVE (22:00)
FCSB will face Dinamo Zagreb, today, from 22:00, in round number 7 of the main phase of the Europa League. Out of 36 teams, FCSB, with 6 points, is in 27th place, and the opponent – in 25th place, with 7 points. The specialist website xbets offers a good win rate for the hosts.
The “red-blues” are one point behind Celtic, in 24th place, the last one that ensures qualification in the play-off for the “eighties”. For the Romanian champion, there would be only one round left, the duel with Fenerbahce, in the Capital, on January 29. The champion has two wins (1-0 with Go Ahead Eagles and 4-3 with Feyenoord) and four defeats. The last direct duel with Dinamo Zagreb took place on June 28, 2016, 0-0 in a test match.
Champion facelift
After a defeat in the first official match of 2026, 0-1 against FC Argeș, FCSB will now play in Europe. And there will be some changes in the starting team. The dramatic victory over Feyenoord, 4-3, with a goal scored in the last phase, gave the Romanians hope for a possible qualification to the next round. For that, according to the statisticians from Football Meets Data, FCSB needs at least 4 points from the next two matches. And the champion will line up the best starting formula on Thursday. Compared to the match with Pitesti, FCSB will make several changes in the starting formula. Thus, Radunovic will return to the left side, and the pair of central defenders will consist of Dawa and Graovac, the latter being suspended for the Mioveni match. And in the middle there will be a change. Lixandru, used as a defender at Mioveni, will go up the middle and be a defender, instead of Vlad Chiricheș. And Miculescu will start as a starter, instead of Toma. FCSB probable team: Târnovanu – Crețu, Dawa, Graovac, Radunovic – Lixandru, Fl. Tănase – Miculescu, Olaru, Cisotti – Bîrligea.
Dinamo is coming from vacation
While FCSB has already played a game in the domestic championship, Dinamo Zagreb is still on vacation. He played only one test game, on January 15, against the Austrian team Hartberg. Dinamo resumes the domestic competition 3 days after the match with FCSB. He has a dispute with Osijek, away. After 18 rounds, the Croatian outfit is in 1st place in the championship with 38 points, followed by arch-rivals Hajduk Split with 37 points. Dutch referee Sander van der Eijk (34 years old) will lead the match between FCSB and Dinamo Zagreb, at the “Maksimir” stadium in Zagreb, according to the UEFA website. It will be the first time that the striker will be in the center in a European match of the “red-blues”. Assistant referees were delegated Rens Bluemink and Stefan De Groot, and the fourth official will be Joey Kooij. The video referee will also be a Dutchman, Clay Ruperti, and the video assistant referee will be the Belgian Jan Boterberg.
20 euros a ticket
Before the match with Dinamo Zagreb, FCSB announced that those who want to attend the game in Croatia will have to pay 20 euros for a ticket. “Tickets for our supporters’ match with GNK Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Europa League (January 22, 21:00 local time, Zagreb) can be purchased online using the link in the comments section. The price of a ticket is 20 Euros. Please note that you must create an account to access tickets. In order to support the supporters from Bucharest, FCSB and Peluza Nord 1995 will make tickets available on Monday and Tuesday, between 10:00 and 18:00, inside magazinfcsb.ro, on Strada Progresului 134-138. Thank you and we are waiting for you with us“, FCSB sent on Facebook.
Liability for transfers transferred to Stoica
FCSB transferred two players in this mercato period: Andre Duarte (28 years old) and Ofri Arad (27 years old), both of whom were brought free of contract. At the end of last year, Gigi Becali (67 years old) openly announced that he would make at least 4-5 moves in the winter. Asked now if he will take other footballers to FCSB, the boss gave a surprising answer. Gigi Becali gave MM Stoica a free hand in transfers: “He has 6 million euros in his accounts and he does what he wants”. The landowner said that he had no one to transfer from the domestic championship and gave the money “on hand” to his trusted man, to find interesting players outside the country. The owner of the Romanian champion has not used to leave such sums at the disposal of someone from the club. “I don’t know if we transfer anything or not. Mihai Stoica is in charge. Do I have time to take care of everything? I gave MM Stoica the power. He decides. I don’t see anything in Romania that I like anymore. And I don’t sit around looking at players from abroad. MM is looking. I don’t know. I’m not interested anymore. If we bring, it will be from abroad. MM is looking and if he finds something, I gave him the power to bring. He has 6 million euros in accounts and do what he wants“, said the parliamentarian.
The two transfers made by FCSB this winter, defender Andre Duarte and midfielder Ofri Arad, are not eligible to play in Zagreb. UEFA only allows teams to make roster changes after the group stage, meaning FCSB cannot rely on the two in their games against Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce. Only if FCSB qualifies in the next round can the two be made the list.
Arad comes “armored” to Bucharest
Ofri Arad signed a two and a half year contract with FCSB and will be paid 20,000 euros per month. The Israeli also receives a hefty installation bonus of €400,000. The reaction of Ofri Arad’s wife after the Israeli midfielder signed with FCSB: “Bucharest, we come with an open heart“. Arad will not come to Bucharest alone, but with his wife Shani Berger Arad. The two have been married since 2022 and have a little girl together. The footballer’s partner is a lawyer in Israel and owns an online educational platform dedicated to supporting law students at the beginning of their careers. Immediately after Ofri Arad was officially introduced to FCSB, Shani wanted to send a message on her Instagram account.
“A new chapter in our journey! With the signing of this contract comes a reminder: dreams never end, they just change scenery. Every change like this reminds me how strong our family is and how much is possible when you believe. It’s not just football. It’s change, growth, another chapter we’re writing together. I look at you and I see a man who never stops working, dreaming, devoting himself completely. I see the road, the perseverance, the peace behind the hard work, your extraordinary personality, and I know that nothing here is taken for granted. Bucharest, we come with an open heart, with a lot of new lives to fulfill and with a lot of gratitude for the right to choose every time to start over. My husband, I am proud of you today and every day. Let them see who you are. Praise the Lord that he is good, for his mercy endures foreverShani Arad wrote.
