Derry City vs CSKA Sofia prediction 16.07.2026 | Europa League Qualifiers
Derry City
Kick off:
Date:
CSKA Sofia
1
3.45
X
3.50
2
1.94
Contents
- Competition: Europa League Qualifiers, 1st Round, 2nd Leg
- Date: Thursday, 16th July, 2026
- Kickoff: 18:30 UK / 19:30 CEST
- Venue: The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium (Derry)
Following CSKA Sofia's 3:2 win over Derry City in Bulgaria, the teams will face off in the second leg of the Europa League Qualifiers in Northern Ireland. Even though it's still an open duel, with only a one-goal advantage for the Bulgarian Cup winners, the bookies favor the Bulgarian side a lot more. The odds of them advancing are around 1.5, while the odds on Derry City are around 4.5-5.0.
Let's break down the game and find the best possible bet for this upcoming tie.
Derry City vs CSKA Sofia Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
CSKA Sofia
3 : 2
Derry City
Europa League
-
Derry City
1 : 1
CSKA Sofia
Europa League
-
CSKA Sofia
1 : 0
Derry City
Europa League
These teams met a week ago in the first leg, with CSKA winning 3:2. They were a better side and deservedly won the game. However, a goal for Derry City in the 88th minute made this duel a lot more interesting because Derry City "only" needs a minimal win to take the game into extra time.
Before last week's game, these teams had met in 2009, when they played in the Europa League Qualifiers. That time, CSKA won 1:0 at home, and the game in Northern Ireland ended as a 1:1 draw.
Derry City team overview
Derry City secured their European Qualifiers by finishing 2nd in the domestic league last year. However, this year, they weren't even remotely as good, given that they sit in 6th place in the Premier Division with a mere 29 points from 25 rounds. They are now closer to the danger zone than the European spots!
While the bookies do not trust them to win this game, we could see that Derry City did pretty well in their home games in the Qualifiers, beating teams like HB Toroshavn, KuPS, Tobol, and Bruno's Magpies. To be fair, none of those teams are particularly great, but they consistently play better at home and have every reason to be optimistic.
After a 3:1 loss to CSKA Sofia, coach Tiernan Lynch spoke to the media. He said he felt they improved as the game progressed, saying the second half was much better. Despite losing the game, the coach remained positive but emphasized the need to improve defensively, as they weren't good enough in that aspect of the game.
Last matches of Derry City
-
CSKA Sofia
3 : 2
Derry City
Europa League
-
Derry City
2 : 4
Waterford
Premier Division
-
Derry City
2 : 0
Drogheda United FC
Premier Division
-
Shamrock Rovers
1 : 1
Derry City
Premier Division
-
Galway United
2 : 1
Derry City
Premier Division
Derry City lineup
Goalkeeper
-
1
Brian Maher
Defenders
-
22
Conor Barr
-
25
Christy Grogan
-
3
Patrick McClean
-
6
Rob Slevin
Midfielders
-
2
Barry Cotter
-
23
Cameron Dummigan
-
28
James Olayinka
-
7
Michael Duffy
Forwards
-
14
Ellis Chapman
-
27
Liam Boyce
CSKA Sofia team overview
CSKA Sofia, one of the greatest Bulgarian teams, managed to grab a Cup title last season, beating Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Finals. This year, their goal is to be among the top four teams and secure the European Qualifiers. Looking at their squad compared to last season, even with some changes, we believe they are at a similar level.
After a 3:2 win over Derry City, coach Hristo Yanev spoke to the media. He was happy with 65% ball possession and 17 shots on goal, while praising the fact they were clinical in front of the goal. However, he wasn't completely satisfied because they made some mistakes on defense, highlighting the need to improve in that area.
Last matches of CSKA Sofia
-
CSKA Sofia
3 : 2
Derry City
Europa League
-
CSKA Sofia
3 : 0
Marek
Club Friendlies 3
-
CSKA Sofia
0 : 4
Polissya Zhytomyr
Club Friendlies 3
-
Ludogorets Razgrad
1 : 0
CSKA Sofia
First League
-
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
3 : 4
CSKA Sofia
Bulgarian Cup
CSKA Sofia lineup
Goalkeeper
-
21
Fedor Lapoukhov
Defenders
-
2
Pastor
-
14
Teodor Ivanov
-
32
Facundo Rodríguez
-
17
Ángelo Martino
Midfielders
-
8
Stefano Sensi
-
6
Bruno Jordão
-
94
Isaac Solet
-
30
Petko Panayotov
Forwards
-
28
Ioannis Pittas
-
9
Leandro Godoy
Prediction
In the first leg, we saw five goals, with CSKA Sofia winning 3:2. Derry City have been atrocious defensively recently, allowing four goals in the game before to Waterford as well. So, expecting a sudden change in their defensive performance seems very unlikely. Also, mainly due to their poor defense, but not that bad an offense either, they went over 2.5 in five of the past seven games - 71%.
As for CSKA Sofia, they went over 2.5 goals in all five games (four friendlies + one EL Qualifiers game). They have been really good offensively, scoring two or more goals in four out of five games. We firmly believe they can do well against Derry City, and we could see another high-scoring game.
Considering all the above, an over 2.5 goals bet seems like the best option for this Europa League Qualifiers tie.
3 Reasons why we should see three or more goals
- Derry City went over 2.5 goals in five of the past seven games
- CSKA Sofia went over 2.5 goals in all five games (preseason included)
- The first leg ended 3:2 in CSKA Sofia's favor
Main prediction Derry City - CSKA Sofia
Over 2.5 goals
Best Odds:
Megapari
1.90
