Preview: CSKA Sofia vs OFI Crete - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to finish the job and secure their place in the League Phase of the 2026-27 Europa League, OFI Crete travel to the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Bulgaria to face CSKA Sofia in the second leg of their playoff tie on Thursday night.

The Greek visitors have put themselves in a strong position to qualify after claiming a 3-0 first-leg home win last week.

Match preview

Not since 2020-21 have CSKA Sofia qualified for the Europa League proper, and the Bulgarian giants face a steep uphill battle on their own turf if they are to extend their stay in Europe's secondary competition.

Overturning a precise three-goal first-leg deficit has never been achieved by a club competing in the competition’s qualification phase, leaving the Armymen with an incredibly thin margin for error in their quest to end their half-decade absence from Europe.

Head coach Hristo Yanev pulled no punches after a disastrous first leg in Heraklion, lamenting that “everything that could go wrong went wrong” and pointing squarely at the “basic mistakes” made by his team which led to their downfall. He has also encouraged his players to better control their emotions after they ended the contest with 10 men.

The Armymen will welcome a return to the Vasil Levski National Stadium, where they have suffered just one defeat in their last nine competitive outings. Indeed, Yanev's men can draw confidence from their most recent home fixture just over a week ago, when they thrashed Botev Vratsa 5-0 in the Bulgarian top flight despite playing the entire second half a man down.

As for OFI, they have only prevailed in two of their last eight competitive away matches, but The Club have kick-started the new campaign in positive fashion with back-to-back home victories without reply.

Just three days after their first-leg European win over CSKA Sofia, Christos Kontis’s side began the new Greek Super League season with a routine 2-0 success against Volos on Sunday, courtesy of sixth-minute own goal and Thiago Nuss’s converted penalty just after the half-hour mark.

Last season’s Greek Cup champions have gradually grown their stature on the domestic front and they are now targeting Europa League qualification for the first time in their history, having previously fallen short in the second round to Apollon Limassol in 2020-21.

While Kontis will guard heavily against complacency ahead of their trip to Sofia, the visitors' commanding cushion means they can afford to draw or even lose by a one or two-goal margin to progress to this season’s League Phase.

CSKA Sofia Europa League form:

CSKA Sofia form (all competitions):

OFI Crete Europa League form:

OFI Crete form (all competitions):

Team News

CSKA Sofia will have to cope without suspended forward Mohamed Brahimi who was sent off in the closing stages of last week’s first leg, while Italian midfield star Stefano Sensi is also unavailable due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Either Petko Panayotov or Bruno Jordao could be tasked with replacing Sensi in the middle of the pitch, while attackers Joel Zwarts and Ioannis Pittas - who have scored 11 goals between them since the beginning of July - could lead the line, forcing Leandro Godoy to begin on the bench.

As for OFI Crete, their only injury concern is with defender Nikolaos Marinakis, who remains a long-term absentee with a pelvic problem.

Taxiarchis Fountas netted a brace in the first leg and the attacker is expected to return to the first XI after being rested at the weekend. Achilleas Poungouras, Zisis Karachalios, Aitor Cantalapiedra could also earn recalls.

CSKA Sofia possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Rodriguez, Gbamin, Ivanov; Pastor, Ebong, Panayotov, Eto'o, Yordanov; Zwarts, Pittas

OFI Crete possible starting lineup:

Christogeorgos; Poungouras, Sielis, Kostoulas; Apostolakis, Bouchalakis, Androutsos, Athanasiou; Cantalapiedra, Nuss, Fountas

We say: CSKA Sofia 1-2 OFI Crete (OFI to win 5-1 on aggregate)

If CSKA Sofia are to stand any realistic chance of pulling off an impressive comeback, they must take the game to their opponents from the opening whistle and produce a much-improved, disciplined performance on home soil.

However, we expect OFI to manage the pressure well and exploit the space in behind to secure victory both on the night and on aggregate, ruthlessly taking their chances on the counter-attack to create history and reach the Europa League main draw for the very first time.

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