 On 21 August, Niculae helped his team to demolish FCM Târgu Mureș, scoring Dinamo's fourth in a 6–2 win.On 17 October, Niculae scored from the penalty spot in the 35th minute of the Eternal derby, the winning goal in Dinamo's 2–1 win over Steaua Bucureşti.This was also Niculae's first league goal against Steaua.