CSKA Sofia vs Basel Match Analysis and Prediction

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Basel will make a trip to Bulgaria to take on CSKA Sofia in the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualification playoff-round tie on Thursady.

The two sides have each gone through two round of qualifying to reach this stage, with a spot in the group stage now at stake.

CSKA Sofia entered Europa Conference League qualifying after finishing second in the Bulgarian top flight last season, and their journey began with a second-round tie against Makedonija.

Following a goalless draw away from home, they took an aggregate lead through Jurgen Mattheij in the first half of the second leg and would go on to record a dominant 4-0 win as Georgi Yomov, Lazar Tufegdzic and Duckens Nazon also got on the scoresheet, securing a third-round tie with St Patrick’s Athletic.

Their home leg remained goalless unti the 87th minute, when Serge Atakayi put the Irish side ahead, but the Reds managed to come from behind on their travels, as Mauricio Garces and Ivan Turitsov scored goals to overturn the deficit in normal time.

Coming into Europa Conference League qualifying off the back of a second-placed finish in the Swiss Super League, Basel began with a second-round tie against Crusaders, and after a 2-0 home win, they managed to draw 1-1 on their travels and progress with an aggregate victory.

They would then meet Brondby in the third round, and they had a tough task after a 1-0 away defeat in the first leg in Denmark, after Marko Divkovic scored the only goal of the game.

In their home leg, Basel took the lead through Fabian Frei which would later be cancelled out by their opponents, but Andi Zeqiri put them back in the lead, with the tie eventually going to a penalty shootout where Alexander Frei’s side managed to prevail.

CSKA Sofia vs Basel head to head

The two teams have previously met on just three occasions in their Europa League back in 2009 and 2020, where Basel claimed two victories while CSKA Sofia won once. Basel scored six goals and conceded four in the process. They now meet for the first time in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.

CSKA Sofia 0-1 Basel 22/10/09

Basel 3-1 CSKA Sofia 05/11/09

Basel 1-3 CSKA Sofia 01/10/20

CSKA Sofia latest home form

CSKA Sofia have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their eight most recent matches. They defeated Septemvri Sofia 1-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded just two.

CSKA Sofia 1-0 Cherno more 25/07/22

CSKA Sofia 4-0 Makedonija GjP 28/07/22

CSKA Sofia 5-1 Beroe 31/07/22

CSKA Sofia 0-1 St Patrick’s Athletic 04/08/22

CSKA Sofia 1-0 Septemvri Sofia 14/08/22

CSKA Sofia latest away form

CSKA Sofia have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their three most recent matches. They defeated St Patrick’s Athletic 2-0 in their last away game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded seven.

Salzburg 2-1 CSKA Sofia 24/06/22

Sepsi 4-0 CSKA Sofia 27/06/22

Lokomotiv Sofia 1929 1-1 CSKA Sofia 16/07/22

Makedonija GjP 0-0 CSKA Sofia 21/07/22

St Patrick’s Athletic 0-2 CSKA Sofia 11/08/22

Basel latest home form

Basel were beaten 2-0 by Lugano in their last home game in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their previous nine matches. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded four.

Basel 2-0 Crusaders 21/07/22

Basel 1-1 Servette 24/07/22

Basel 0-0 Young Boys 07/08/22

Basel (P)2-1 Brondby 11/08/22

Basel 0-2 Lugano 14/08/22

Basel latest away form

Basel have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having been winless in their eight most recent matches. They lost 1-0 to Brondby in their last away game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored two goals and conceded three.

Lausanne Sport 0-0 Basel 08/05/22

Servette 0-0 Basel 19/05/22

Winterthur 1-1 Basel 16/07/22

Crusaders 1-1 Basel 28/07/22

Brondby 1-0 Basel 04/08/22

CSKA Sofia news

CSKA Sofia have several options to choose from going forward, with the likes of Brayan Moreno and Duckens Nazon bidding to feature up front.

Loanee Mauricio Garcez has been their key man in attack so far this season, contributing six goals and two assists in eight appearances across all competitions.

Basel news

Basel’s line is set to be led by Andi Zeqiri, who scored his first goal following a loan arrival from Brighton & Hove Albion in their second-leg win over Brondby.

Marwin Hits is again expected to feature between the sticks following his summer arrival from Borussia Dortmund, with Dan Ndoye featuring on the flanks.