Preview: Borac Banja Luka vs Levski Sofia - prediction, team news, lineups

FK Borac Banja Luka and Levski Sofia will face off in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, with both sides looking to build on historic domestic campaigns.

The opening leg will be played at the Gradski Stadion in Banja Luka, before the return fixture takes place at Levski's Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov in Sofia on July 14.

Match preview

Borac's 2025-26 domestic campaign was the most dominant in the club's post-independence history.

Under Vinko Marinovic, Borac secured a record fourth Bosnian Premier League title with a 1-0 victory away to Sarajevo on May 3, sealing the championship with four matches still to play.

The Bosnian champions finished the season with 27 wins, five draws and four defeats from 36 league matches, conceding an average of just 0.8 goals per game.

A commanding 6-0 victory over Rudar Prijedor on the opening day in late July set the tone for a dominant campaign that also included notable wins over Sarajevo and Zrinjski Mostar.

Tuesday's first leg at the Gradski Stadion will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Borac and Levski, with the two clubs never having faced each other in UEFA competition or any other official fixture.

Levski's title success was equally historic, as the club ended a 17-year wait for the Bulgarian First League crown after last winning it in 2009, overcoming a period marked by financial turmoil and the threat of collapse.

Head coach Julio Velazquez guided the Sofia side to the championship, ending Ludogorets Razgrad's record streak of 14 consecutive league titles in the process.

Levski finished the campaign with 25 wins, six draws and five defeats from 36 league matches while scoring 71 goals, and although they also lifted the Bulgarian Cup in 2021-22, this league triumph carries far greater significance.

Levski also boast the stronger European pedigree, having become the first Bulgarian club to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2006-07, where they faced Barcelona, Chelsea and Werder Bremen.

The Sofia outfit have also featured in multiple Europa League group stages and reached the European Cup quarter-finals in both 1975-76 and 2005-06.

Borac Banja Luka form (all competitions):

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Levski Sofia form (all competitions):

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Team News

Luka Juricic heads into the tie after scoring 27 goals in all competitions during the 2025-26 season, making him Borac's biggest attacking threat.

Stefan Savic contributed seven goals and seven assists from midfield, while David Vukovic provides creativity in the final third, Sandi Ogrinec and Srdan Grahovac add depth in midfield, and Nemanja Jaksic offers reliability at right-back.

Eighteen-year-old goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas has already established himself in Borac's first team and earned a place in Bosnia and Herzegovina's World Cup squad this summer.

For Levski, Everton Bala led the club's title-winning charge with 19 goals in all competitions, while Juan Perea added 12 and Armstrong Oko-Flex scored nine to provide further attacking firepower.

Mazire Soula, who led the team with nine assists, remains Levski's chief creative influence from central or wide midfield, while the visitors also possess pace and directness in the wide areas.

Borac Banja Luka possible starting lineup:

Jurkas; Jaksic, Pascual, Sanicanin, Herrera; Ogrinec, Grahovac, Savic; Vukovic, Hrelja, Juricic

Levski Sofia possible starting lineup:

Vutsov; Maicon, Makoun, Dimitrov, Kamdem; Bouras, Trdin, Soula; Perea, Oko-Flex, Bala

We say: Borac Banja Luka 2-1 Levski Sofia

Home advantage, a higher UEFA coefficient and the confidence of a settled squad that wrapped up the Bosnian title with four matches to spare make Borac slight favourites to take a first-leg lead.

Levski possess plenty of attacking quality, but their away record in European qualifiers under Julio Velazquez is still unproven at this level.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.