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

Jostling for a spot in the League Phase, OFI Crete and CSKA Sofia clash at Pankritio Stadio for the first leg of their Europa League playoff in Heraklion, Greece on Thursday evening.

O Omilos are back on the continental stage for the first time in six years following domestic success last season, whilst the Army Men have already battled through multiple rounds of qualifying to reach this point.

Match preview

Playing amatuer football as recently as a decade ago, OFI Crete have enjoyed a remarkable rise to the elite level of Greek football, beating domestic giants AEK Athens in May's Greece Cup final, picking up O Omilos' second-ever major trophy.

Courtesy of that shock victory at Allwyn Arena in the spring, Christos Kontis's troops secured a place in the playoff round of the Europa League, meaning that they are two matches away from the League Phase proper.

After the success of last season, OFI Crete endured three consecutive friendly defeats over the summer to Dutch trio Go Ahead Eagles (4-0), NAC Breda (3-2) and Willem II (2-1) before enjoying a winning return to competitive action.

O Omilos forced current Greece champions AEK Athens to a penalty shootout in the Greece Super Cup last Wednesday thanks to second-half strikes from Thanasis Androutsos and Konstantinos Kostoulas, before the underdogs won the contest from 12 yards out.

Thursday night's hosts are venturing into the European limelight for the first time since the 2020-21 season, when Cypriot side Apollon Limassol knocked OFI out of the Europa League in the second round of qualifying.

© Imago / Yulian Todorov

After placing below surprise winners Levksi Sofia, runner-ups CSKA 1948 and third-placed Ludogorets Razgrad in the Bulgarian top flight last season, CSKA Sofia were slotted into the first round of Europa League qualifying this summer.

As a result - on the complete contrary to their opponents on Thursday - the Army Men have been forced to battle through six matches to reach this week's Heraklion stage, beating Derry City (5-3), Qarabag (0-0, 5-4 pens) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-3) over two legs.

In fact, CSKA Sofia have already played 11 competitive fixtures during the early stages of the 2026-27 campaign, losing just once and enjoying a five-match unbeaten start to their top-flight schedule domestically.

Despite a red card from forward Catalin Itu, Hristo Yanev's side picked up their biggest triumph of the term to date on Sunday afternoon, when bottom side Botev Vratsa were hit for five without reply at Vasil Levski.

Netting a brace on the weekend, Joel Zwarts has hit the ground running with five goals in as many top-flight contests since his summer switch from Lokomotiv Plovdiv, however, the 27-year-old has scored just once across six Europa League appearances so far.

OFI Crete form (all competitions):

W

CSKA Sofia Europa League form: 

W W D W W L

CSKA Sofia form (all competitions):

Team News

© Iconsport / Eurokinissi

After making his competitive debut for OFI Crete against AEK Athens last weekend, Lorenzo Dickman could feature in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Further up the field, there is considerable hope that Spaniard Aitor Cantalapiedra can be a shining light for O Omilos this term following his switch from Vitoria in Brazil.

Also possessing experience of playing for one of Greece's big clubs, former Olympiacos man Dimitrios Nikolaou is on loan with OFI Crete from Italian outfit Palmero.

Netting in the second leg versus Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier this month, CSKA Sofia midfielder Stefano Sensi should start once again this week.

Dutchman Zwarts is pushing hard for a start following his goalscoring antics over the weekend, meaning that Argentine Leandro Godoy is not assured of his spot in the XI.

OFI Crete possible starting lineup:

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

CSKA Sofia possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Ivanov, Gbamin, Rodriguez; Pastor, Ebong, Eto'o, Sensi, Yordanov; Pittas, Godoy

We say: OFI Crete 1-1 CSKA Sofia

Last week's Super Cup success would have done OFI Crete the world of good in terms of confidence ahead of their European return on Thursday.

CSKA have worked incredibly hard to reach this point and should be good enough for a draw in the first leg.

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