CSKA Sofia – Qarabag

The Bulgarian club will not be able to withstand the pressure from an experienced opponent.

In the rivalry between Bulgarian CSKA and Azerbaijani Qarabağ, the latter was initially considered the favorite. The Agdam-based side last season, for the second time in its history, reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, but did not stop there. After achieving a number of outstanding results in the group stage, Qarabağ advanced to the Round of 16 of the continent's main tournament, where it lost to Newcastle United. The players' heavy involvement in the Champions League has spilled over onto the domestic scene. For the first time in five seasons, Qarabağ failed to win the Azerbaijan championship, yielding the top spot to the capital's Sabah. Nevertheless, the team's experience and its drive to make a mark in European cups make Qarabağ dangerous at the Europa League qualifying level. Bulgarian CSKA is a far less seasoned side on the European stage. The Sofia club's last continental campaign ended in the same round of the Europa Conference League qualifiers in which it began. In the current edition of the Europa League, CSKA participates as the Bulgarian Cup winner. In the last national championship, the team finished only fourth, eighteen points behind the champions Levski. Bookmakers did not name a favourite for the return leg, offering a slight tilt in the odds in favour of the home side. The first match between Qarabağ and CSKA took place a week ago in Baku and did not give the nearly 24 thousand gathered fans a single goal. The ball was once sent into the Bulgarian goal by Kadi Borjes, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Qarabağ had a slight edge in statistics in that game, but the result was weak for the home side. Moreover, a 0-0 scoreline before the return leg against an opponent with no real advantage over you could further motivate Qarabağ players. Between the matches with the Azerbaijani club, CSKA played the second round of the Bulgarian championship, in which they snatched a victory over Botev Plovdiv. Qarabağ in the first qualifying round did not concede a single goal from Vestri. In other words, the club effectively relies on defending its goal. It is highly likely that playing in a defensive second-stance approach in Sofia will yield more dividends for the visitors than trying to dominate in the first leg.