---
title: "Dynamo vs Universitatea: Start of the European Campaign and Oleg Salenko's Prediction"
description: "Kyiv's Dynamo begins its European campaign with a match against Romanian Universitatea. Club legend Oleg Salenko is confident in a Kyiv victory, despite uncertainty regarding the starting lineup and the loss of Vladyslav Kabayev. 🇺🇦⚽🔥"
date: 2026-07-09T15:34:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/dynamo-vs-universitatea-start-of-the-european-campaign-and-oleg-salenkos-prediction
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Dynamo vs Universitatea: Start of the European Campaign and Oleg Salenko's Prediction

![FC Dynamo Kyiv players celebrate a goal in the match against Universitatea as part of their European campaign](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/10/dynamo-protiv-universitatea-nachalo-evrokubkovoy-kampanii/dynamo-protiv-universitatea-nachalo-evrokubkovoy-kampanii-1.webp)

The European season for Ukrainian teams has officially begun. Kyiv's Dynamo, having won the Ukrainian Cup, heads to the first qualifying round of the Europa League, where their opponent will be Romanian Universitatea from Cluj. Ahead of the start of the "Summer of European Cups" project, experts and club legends are assessing the chances of the "white-and-blues".

### History of confrontations and current form of the teams

The last time the Kyiv team met the Romanian club was in 2014, when their opponent in the Europa League group stage was Bucharest's Steaua. Back then, under the leadership of Serhiy Rebrov, Dynamo had no problems: a home victory with a score of 3:1 and an away win of 2:0. Andriy Yarmolenko scored in both matches and may participate in the current game as well.

In total, Dynamo has played 9 times against Romanian clubs in European competitions. The Kyiv team has 4 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses to their credit.

Last season, Dynamo finished fourth in the championship, failing to reach the podium. However, success in the Ukrainian Cup, where they defeated their main rival — Donetsk's Shakhtar — allowed the club to start in the Europa League from the first qualifying round.

The opponent, Universitatea, took second place in the Romanian championship, losing only to Universitatea Craiova (which is currently playing in the Champions League). In the national cup, the Cluj team also lost to Craiova in a penalty shootout.

### Oleg Salenko's opinion: lineup, losses, and prediction

Legendary Dynamo striker and top scorer of the 1994 World Cup, Oleg Salenko, shared his opinion on the upcoming match in a comment to RBC-Ukraine. He noted that it is difficult to assess the level of Romanian football today, so one should rely only on one's own strength.

Salenko drew attention to the possibility of five substitutions, which is especially relevant for the first official match of the season. If any of the players do not get into the game, the coaching staff will be able to quickly adjust the situation.

Regarding the personnel losses previously mentioned by head coach Ihor Kostyuk, the expert considers them not critical. The exception is the absence of Vladyslav Kabayev.

    - **Vladyslav Kabayev:** Salenko called his loss serious, noting that he is a quality attacking midfielder.

    - **Maksym Osypenko:** The expert believes it is too early to call him a loss, as the young footballer has not yet had a decisive influence on the team's game.

Salenko finds it difficult to predict Dynamo's starting lineup. According to him, even after watching training matches, it is unclear which configuration will be the main one. Former players of the club also note a lack of understanding of who will play where.

Despite the uncertainty with the lineup, the legend is confident in success: Dynamo must pass this qualifying stage. "If you don't beat this team, then why play in European competitions at all?" — Salenko summarized.

### Bets and odds

The official club sponsor GGBET has prepared a special program for fans. The bookmaker's experts assess the chances of the teams as follows:

    - Dynamo win: odds 1.34

    - Draw: odds 5.47

    - Universitatea win: odds 8.42

Evenings of European football are back on air. The "white-and-blues" are ready to demonstrate their level in international battles, and fans will be able to support the team with maximum effort.