Levski Sofia vs RB Salzburg Prediction, Odds & Best Bet – Europa League

Levski Sofia return to the main stage of UEFA competition for the first time since 2010/11 when they welcome RB Salzburg to the Vasil Levski National Stadium for Thursday’s Europa League league-phase opener.

The Bulgarian champions came within one playoff tie of reaching the Champions League before falling to Greek counterparts AEK Athens, while Salzburg arrive in Sofia unbeaten in competitive football this season.

H2H: Levski Sofia vs Red Bull Salzburg

Thursday will be the third competitive meeting between Levski and Salzburg, with the previous two coming during the 2009/10 Europa League group stage.

Salzburg won both games 1-0. Dusan Svento scored in first-half stoppage time to decide the meeting in Austria, before Franz Schiemer headed a dramatic stoppage-time winner in Sofia after Levski had been reduced to ten men following Georgi Sarmov’s dismissal.

Salzburg therefore boast a perfect H2H record against the Blues, although both previous encounters were considerably tighter than Thursday’s goals market currently anticipates.

Levski Sofia – Current Form and Team NewsL

Levski’s Champions League dream ended painfully against AEK Athens, with a 0-0 draw in Sofia followed by a heavy 4-0 defeat in the Greek capital. Before that playoff, however, Julio Velazquez’s side had progressed through three qualifying rounds without losing, overcoming Borac Banja Luka, Universitatea Craiova and Kairat Almaty, champions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Kazakhstan, respectively.

Their domestic start has been even stronger. Levski won their opening eight league matches before Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Botev Vratsa, leaving the defending champions top of the First League with 25 points from 27 available (nine games), 21 goals scored and only four conceded.

Nevertheless, one major recent setback was the Bulgarian Super Cup, where Levski led eternal rivals CSKA Sofia 1-0 at half-time before in a 4-2 defeat.

Velazquez is expected to continue with his preferred 4-2-3-1 system. Oliver Kamdem, Akram Bouras, Radoslav Kirilov and Mousatpha Sangare remain among the notable absentees for Levski, while the possible starting lineup has Everton Bala operating through the middle with Reinaldo and Armstrong Oko-Flex providing width.

Red Bull Salzburg – Current Form and Team News

Salzburg’s start under Danny Rohl has been impressive. The Austrian side are unbeaten through their first 12 competitive matches across all competitions, recording nine wins and three draws, while also successfully navigating two rounds of Europa League qualifying.

They edged Pafos 4-3 on aggregate before producing a much more convincing 4-0 aggregate victory over Mjallby in the play-offs. Domestically, Salzburg recently dismantled Austria Wien 4-1 and Rapid Wien 5-1 before beating St Pölten 3-0 in the Austrian Cup. Their six-match winning run eventually ended with a 1-1 draw at Ried last Friday, despite Karim Konate giving Salzburg an 84th-minute lead.

Salzburg’s attacking depth is particularly concerning for Levski. Haris Tabakovic has scored eight times in ten competitive appearances this season, including a Europa League qualifying hat-trick against Pafos and a brace in the 5-1 demolition of Rapid.

Konate has been even more efficient with his minutes. The Ivorian has six goals this season and scored four across his last three appearances, twice against Mjäalby before finding the net against both Rapid and Ried.

Christian Fruchtl is dealing with a foot problem, so Christian Zawieschitzky should continue in goal. Johannes Moser was omitted from Salzburg’s Europa League squad, while Gaoussou Diakitée and Soumala Diabate have also been dealing with injuries.

Possible Starting XIs of Levski Sofia and RB Salzburg

Levski Sofia: Svetoslav Vutsov – Alex Centelles, Christian Makoun, Kristian Dimitrov, Aldair Neves – El Mehdi Moubarik, Maico – Reinaldo Satorno, Serginho, Armstrong Oko-Flex – Everton Bala. (4-2-3-1)

Red Bull Salzburg: Christian Zawieschitzky – Nikolas Veratschnig, Kevin Boma, Valentin Zabransky, Dominik Schmid – Bartosz Mazurek, Abubakr Barry – Yorbe Vertessen, Karim Konate, Edmund Baidoo – Haris Tabakovic. (4-2-3-1)

Levski Sofia vs Red Bull Salzburg Betting Odds and Picks

EveryGame lists Levski Sofia +190, Draw +240 and Red Bull Salzburg +120 on the 1X2 market.

Despite Levski’s progress under Velazquez, Salzburg deserve favoritism given their unbeaten start and attacking capability. However, backing them outright at +120 is not particularly tempting against a Levski side that has been excellent domestically and has already frustrated multiple European opponents in Sofia.

Both Teams to Score is also prohibitively short at -189. Instead, the more interesting price comes from combining Salzburg’s superior attacking options with a goals angle.

Overall, Salzburg have scored 13 goals across their last four matches, and their attacking options extend well beyond Tabakovic. Levski have enough quality and tactical discipline to contribute at home, so a 2-1 Salzburg win or an entertaining 2-2 draw, for example, both match our best bet selection.

For the player markets, Salzburg’s Tabakovic at +160 is understandably the shortest of the main options given his eight-goal start. Konate is priced even shorter at +130, although his remarkable recent scoring rate makes that understandable.

Levski vs Salzburg Best Bet: Salzburg or Draw (X2) and Over 2.5 Goals (+145 at EveryGame)