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Eugen Nasta, 15.01.2025, 13:45

The Romanian football Super League competition season is to be resumed at the weekend. From Friday and all through to Monday fixtures are scheduled, counting towards the regular season’s 22nd round, which is also the seventh round of the domestic championship’s away series.

All told, the first part of the Super League’s championship is made of 30 rounds. All 16 competing teams play according to a round-robin system, at home and away. The regular season draws to a close on March 8. Then the teams advance to the championship’s Group 1 / Group 2 phase, where each team’s record sheet includes only half of the points they’ve got until then.

The first six teams in descending order play in Group 1. There they compete for the title and for two of Romania’s places in the preliminaries of Europe’s third-tier football competition, Europa Conference League.

In Group 1, fixtures are played in 10 rounds, according to a double-legged tie system. The teams placed 7th to 16th compete in Group 2. In 9 rounds, Group 2 teams play according to a round-robin system, in a single-legged tie. Group 2’s 9th and 10th-placed teams according to the final ranking are relegated.

7th and 8th-placed teams engage in a play-off confrontation with second league’s 3rd and 4th-placed teams. Group 2’s best-placed teams are entitled to receiving a bonus. As soon as the championship season draws to a close, they will engage in a play-off match. The winner then takes on the 3rd-placed team in Group 1. At stake is a position in the Conference League preliminaries.

According to the as-it-stands table, Universitatea Cluj and FCSB are 1st and 2nd placed, respectively. Both teams have 37 points. Dinamo Bucharest follows, with 36. Following in descending order are Universitatea Craiova and CFR Cluj, with 35 points each. With 31 points, the bottom-of the table team according to Group 1 ranking is Petrolul Ploieşti. The first teams below the line are Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Rapid Bucharest, with 30 and 29 points, respectively.

FCSB is the only Romanian team still playing in European competitions. On Thursday, January 23rd, holders FCSB play an away game against Azeri team Qarabag, .FCSB’s match against Qarabag is their last nut one fixture in Europa league’s main group phase. FCSB have already secured their ticket for the European spring. FCSB will engage in the playoffs for a position in the competition’s round of 16, yet

FCSB still stand a real chance to gain a place among the Europa League’s first eight teams according to the final ranking. Such a position will book the Romanian team their undisputed presence in the League’s round of 16. To that effect, a win in Azerbaijan will be most useful. In late January, FCSB play their final group game on home turf, against Manchester United.