- Odds: Maccabi Tel-Aviv are the hot favorites at 1.62, with CSKA Sofia 5.5 and the draw 3.65.
- CSKA away record: CSKA Sofia's away record is 1 win, 2 draws and 1 defeat in 4 matches, conceding just 2 goals, at 0.50 per game.
- Maccabi home record: Maccabi Tel-Aviv's home record is 2 wins and 1 defeat from 3 matches, averaging 2.67 goals per game.
A clash of styles
Maccabi Tel-Aviv will set up to play front-foot football, with their wing-backs providing width and Kenny Miller's side looking to build combinations through the thirds.
PFC CSKA Sofia are a much more narrow team, Hristo Yanev's men looking to overload in central areas and press high up the field, trying to catch their opponents off guard in transition.
Maccabi are the in-form team
- Maccabi have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5 matches, while CSKA Sofia are unbeaten in their last 5, winning 3 and drawing 2.
- However, Maccabi have won 4 straight, and their latest two results in UEFA Europa League Qualification 2026 are likely to have them salivating at the prospect of taking on a differently styled side in PFC CSKA Sofia.
- The Israeli's hammered FC Sheriff Tiraspol 5-0 away, before beating them 1-0 at home, and will fancy their chances of another two-legged victory in this competition.
CSKA are a stubborn side
Across all competitions, CSKA Sofia have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 10, so they come into this tie with a lot of momentum and with an ability to make Maccabi work to break them down.
Pittas is CSKA's sharpest edge in the qualification, so if they are able to break Maccabi's initial press, this game could open up quickly. If not, Maccabi's wing-backs can serve up a steady stream of balls into the box, which could make this game a bit more of a tussle.
Sayed Abu Farkhi can make the difference
Player form
In UEFA Europa League Qualification 2026, Sayed Abu Farkhi is Maccabi's goal threat, scoring 2 in 2, while Ioannis Pittas' team have their own sharpshooter in Joel Zwarts, who has scored 2 of CSKA's 4 goals across their last 5.
Abu Farkhi has also scored 4 of Maccabi's last 12 goals across their previous 5 matches, so back him to find a way through on Thursday.
Tip and prediction
I think Maccabi should edge this, but they're well priced and CSKA are on a 5-game unbeaten run, so we could still see a close battle.
I am backing Maccabi to come away with a win and I will take the clean sheet option, as the market seems to lean towards a tight European tie.
Under 2.5 goals is 1.98, but I'm taking BTTS No at 1.98 as the starting point for this match.
