Preview: CSKA Sofia vs Monaco - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting in a Conference League fixture for the first time, Monaco will travel to Balgarska Armia Stadium in the Bulgarian capital to face CSKA Sofia on matchday one.

The Bulgarians dropped into this competition after losing their Europa League playoff tie to OFI Crete, 5-0 on aggregate, while Monaco ousted Gornik Zabrze, 7-3 over two legs, to advance into the League Phase of this tournament for the first time.

Match preview

They were not close in their playoff tie with OFI, but Sofia will hope to write a redemption story in the Conference League beginning on Thursday.

Since losing the second leg of that Europa League tie in late August (2-0), Markus Gisdol’s men have gone unbeaten in their last seven matches played across all competitions.

On Thursday they can extend their competitive home winning run to three matches, outscoring those last two opponents by a combined margin of 7-2.

A win on matchday one would mark their first triumph in the League Phase of this competition, having competed in this phase once before in 2021-22.

They have only collected one point in the group stage of this competition before, and that came at home in September 2021, in a 0-0 draw versus Bodo Glimt, while losing their other two home encounters by a single goal.

The Army Men have never lost a European outing versus the Principality club, boasting a 100% record against them in their only two meetings on Bulgarian soil in the 1980s.

After barely holding on in the opening leg of their playoff tie with Gornik Zabrze (3-2), Monaco put that tie out of reach with a pair of first-half goals at Stade Louis II.

Filipe Luis’ men enter this outing atop the Ligue 1 standings, as the former Flamengo boss has yet to lose a competitive game in charge of Les Monesgasques.

Monaco have dropped points in their last two European League Phase matches as the visitors, both in that portion of the Champions League, including a 7-1 hammering at Real Madrid.

This team have yet to concede an opening half goal in a Conference League affair, though they have only netted twice in the first 45 minutes themselves.

So far in 2026-27, they have not lost a match after scoring the opening goal, dropping just two points all season when doing so.

Les Monegasques will seek their first points on Bulgarian soil Thursday, having lost in all three of those previous matches in that nation.

CSKA Sofia form (all competitions):

Monaco Conference League form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Team News

Sofia have a couple of players with ties to France on their squad, with striker Mohamed Brahimi being born in Saint-Etienne and defender Jean-Philippe Gbamin collecting over 50 Ligue 1 caps at Metz, Lens and Nantes.

Ioannis Pittas led them with three goals in the Europa League qualifiers, while Joel Zwarts leads them with eight domestically this season.

At Monaco, Mamadou Coulibaly is questionable for this match due to a knock, while Takumi Minamino is recovering from a long-term injury, while their top goalscorer in Ligue 1, Paris Brunner, is eligible to play as his suspension only factors into domestic action.

Aleksandr Golovin, Coulibaly, Mika Biereth, and Brunner all scored in their return leg to advance into the League Phase, with Lamine Camara also netting in that tie.

CSKA Sofia possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Pastor, Ivanov, Gbamin, Martino; Eto’o, Jordao, Ebong; Brahimi, Zwarts, Pittas

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Teze, Sane, Salisu, Mawissa; Camara, Zakaria; Diop, Golovin, Idumbo; Brunner

We say: CSKA Sofia 0-1 Monaco

Playing in Bulgaria, with pitch conditions often far from ideal, will surely put the visitors at a disadvantage.

Still, we believe Monaco’s form and depth will find a way to sneak a goal in, and that may be enough against a Sofia side that have not fared well against teams outside their country.

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