FCSB vs Inter Club d'Escaldes: UCL Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

On Wednesday evening, FCSB will face Inter Club d'Escaldes in the 2025–26 Champions League, which begins just weeks after last season's final. 

As they begin a first qualifying round match, the Romanian side—formerly known as Steaua Bucharest—will welcome their Andorran rivals. 

Previous Matches and Head-to-Head

With 28 domestic championships to their name, FCSB were the unrivaled champions of Romania last term, topping both the regular season table and the standings after the championship round.

The Bucharest team won the title for the second consecutive year and advanced to the Champions League qualification round, finishing nine points ahead of their closest competitor, CFR Cluj.

This year's 36-team league phase concludes in August's playoffs, and FCSB will begin their adventure on home ground. Seven slots are still up for grabs.

They have plenty of recent experience in foreign competition, as Elias Charalambous guided his team through the Europa League's first stage until they suffered a 7-1 aggregate loss to Lyon in the final 16. 

The Ros-Albastrii defeated Utrecht and Almere, two Dutch teams, in friendlies before facing Cluj in the Supercupa Romaniei to prepare for Wednesday's first leg at Stadionul Steaua.

With another trophy in the bag thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Risto Radunovic on Saturday, FCSB will now want to make a strong impression in Europe. 

Inter Club, which was created in 1991, five years after Steaua Bucharest won the European Championship, is much younger than its famous hosts and isn't fooling itself about its chances of making it to the Champions League proper.

The outsiders, based in Escaldes-Engordany, have never even qualified for the Conference League, let alone participated entirely in a UEFA campaign.

Last year, Inter lost 8-3 on aggregate to AEK Athens and were eliminated at that level for the fourth time. However, they went on to win the Copa Constitucio and the Primera División in Andorra.

The domestic double champions will now have the opportunity to try to qualify for the Champions League, which will begin with a challenging journey to the capital of Romania.

They still have a shot at a Conference League semifinal spot, even if they lose the best-of-three series vs FCSB (the second leg is next week in Aixovall).

FCSB x Inter Club d'Escaldes Team News

Striker Daniel Birligea, who scored three goals to help FCSB reach the Europa League quarterfinals last season, was ruled out of Saturday's Supercupa victory due to a minor toe injury.

Birligea may still play on Wednesday, but Octavian Popescu, a teenage winger, and Joyskim Dawa, an international for Cameroon, are out.

Dennis Politic, who made his debut last week, is hoping to start for the first time if Elias Charalambous decides to make changes. Politic was a junior team player for Manchester United.

The Romanian defender Raul Feher left Inter Club for Phnom Penh Crown of the Cambodian Premier League not long ago.

The Andorrans will be spearheaded by Guillaume Lopez, a Frenchman who has scored six goals in thirteen UEFA club appearances thus far.

Our predictions

Over 3.5 goals @ 1.66 on Sky247.ng

Inter Club will face a huge mismatch in their first qualifier as they go to the lions' lair, thanks to their tough draw.

With their momentum going after winning the Romanian supercup, FCSB will cruise to a decisive first-leg victory to seal the deal before traveling to Andorra.

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