- Recent form: Spartak Varna and Slavia Sofia are both in mixed form in recent weeks, W1, D2, L2 in the last five Parva Liga fixtures.
- Head-to-head: Slavia Sofia are unbeaten in the last three head-to-head clashes, including a 4-0 victory at home two months ago.
- Home form: Spartak Varna have won four, drawn five, and lost eight of their 17 home games in the Parva Liga this season, conceding an average of 1.88 goals per game.
Battling bottom-feeders in a clash of styles
PFC Spartak Varna and PFC Slavia Sofia will be looking to consolidate their positions in the 2026 Parva Liga Relegation Group when they clash on Sunday. The visitors are top of the heap with 43 points from their 33 games, while the home side sit in 6th place on 28 points.
Gjokica Hadzievski took the helm at Spartak Varna in July 2025 and has done a decent job with the limited talent he has at his disposal. He has tried to bring more aggression to the club’s approach, but the underlying principles of pragmatism and survival are evident in their football.
They are typically a reactive side who sit deep in a low block and aim to pick their moments to break out and attack, or hit their opponents on the break or from set pieces. The key to this system is collective grit and determination in the backline and holding midfielders, but Spartak Varna have failed to win their last two home games against Slavia Sofia and have been unconvincing at home recently, recording a run of one win, one draw and one defeat in the most recent trio of fixtures (draw against Dobrudzha and a home defeat to Beroe).
Slavia Sofia can win the battle of midfield
Identity and tactical approach
Ratko Dostanic has brought an identity to Slavia Sofia since his appointment in October 2025 and his team are the antithesis of their opponents on Sunday in terms of approach and structure. They will press collectively, match the pace of their opponent and try to dominate the midfield to control the match.
Key player
When they have possession, they will look to break the opposition lines with tempo and they are capable of forcing errors when they press high up the pitch. David Malembana is Slavia Sofia’s danger man, he has scored two of their last four goals in his last five appearances and his clinical approach will be key if they are to gain three points from this one.
Away form, odds and prediction
Slavia Sofia have won four, drawn five and lost seven of their 16 away fixtures this season and have conceded 20 goals on the road in the relegation group, a ratio of 1.25 goals-per-game. With the bookmakers having Spartak Varna as the narrow favourites at 2.23 and Slavia Sofia at 3.07, we feel this will be a tight match and there won’t be a clear favourite.
However, we will take the ‘Both teams to score - Yes’ market at 1.67, as both teams will be desperate to gain the upper hand in the relegation group and both will need to play on the front foot at some stage of the match.
- Slavia Sofia are unbeaten in the last three head-to-head clashes, including a 4-0 victory at home two months ago.
- Spartak Varna have won four, drawn five, and lost eight of their 17 home games in the Parva Liga this season, conceding an average of 1.88 goals per game.
- Slavia Sofia have won four, drawn five and lost seven of their 16 away fixtures this season and have conceded 20 goals on the road in the relegation group, a ratio of 1.25 goals-per-game.
