Basel vs CSKA Sofia Match Analysis and Prediction

Basel and CSKA Sofia will complete their battle for a spot in the Europa Conference League group stage on Thursday, when they meet in the second leg of their playoff tie.

The Swiss outfit have it all to do if they are to progress, with their opponents arriving wit a narrow 1-0 agrregate lead from last week’s first leg.

Following a second-placed finish in the Swiss Super League, Basel had to settle for second-round entry into the Europa Conference League qualifying, and they began with a tie against Crusaders.

A 2-0 home victory through goals from Dan Ndoye and Adam Szalai was enough to see the RotBlau progress, as the second leg was draw 1-1, before they met Brondby in the third round.

Basel managed to cancel out a 1-0 deficit from the first leg to win 2-1 at home and take the game to extra time and eventually penalties, which the prevailed in.

That victory saw them book a playoff tie with CSKA Sofia, and they headed into the first leg last Thursday off the back of a disappointing league defeat to Lugano, leaving them eighth in the Super League and winless from their opening four matches.

Meanwhile, CSKA Sofia will make the trip hoping to secure a spot of their own in the Europa Conference League after picking up a hard-fought home win last week.

Sasa Ilic’s side hosted Basel in the first leg of their playoff tie last week, and they took a step closer to the group stage with a 1-0 victory, as Sergio Lopez’s goal made the only difference at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

While the Reds face a particularly tough test away at the Swiss giants, CSKA Sofia will hope to take advantage of Basel’s relative struggles  so far this season and hold their lead to progress.

Basel vs CSKA Sofia head to head

The two teams have previously met on just four occasions in the Europa and Conference Leagues, where they have claimed two victories each. Basel have scored six goals and conceded five in the process. 

CSKA Sofia 0-2 Basel 22/10/09

Basel 3-1 CSKA Sofia 05/11/09

Basel 1-3 CSKA Sofia 01/10/20

CSKA Sofia 1-0 Basel 18/08/22

Basel latest home form

Basel lost 2-0 to Lugano in their last home game in the league. However, they have recently been on a relatively 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 won just one of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Allschwill 5-0 in their last away game in the Schweizer Pokal. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded four.

Winterthur 1-1 Basel 16/07/22

Crusaders 1-1 Basel 28/07/22

Brondby 1-0 Basel 04/08/22

CSKA Sofia 1-0 Basel 18/08/22

Allschwil 0-5 Basel 21/08/22

CSKA Sofia latest home form

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

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 1-0 Basel 18/08/22

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 news

Striker Adam Szalai was reduced to a substitute appearance for Basel in the first leg last week, and he should come in from the outset on Thursday.

Dan Ndoye and Liam Millar are set to operate on the wings while Darian Males has enjoyed a positive start to life with Basel.

CSKA Sofia news

CSKA Sofia will likely head into Thursday’s contest with an unchanges starting XI from last week, although Lazar Tufeddzic will be vying to come in from the outset after featuring off the bench.

Duckens Nazon and Brayan Moreno will battle to operate as the lone striker, while Amos Youga is a mainstay in a midfield.

Prediction and Odds

CSKA Sofia performed impressively to take a lead in their home leg and will be desperate to stay ahead, but we see the hosts having slightly to much to overturn the deficit.

Even without their players on top form, we expect Basel to outclass the visitors and secure their place in the group stage.

Odds: 1 2.22 X 2.05 2 2.30

Probable outcomes

Basel 1-0 CSKA Sofia

Basel 2-0 CSKA Sofia

Basel 2-1 CSKA Sofia

Basel 3-0 CSKA Sofia

Basel 3-1 CSKA Sofia