OFI Crete vs CSKA Sofia – News and Probable Lineups

In pursuit of a spot in the League Phase, OFI Crete will face CSKA Sofia at Pankritio Stadio for the first leg of their Europa League playoff in Heraklion, Greece, on Thursday evening.

O Omilos returns to continental competition for the first time in six years after achieving domestic glory last season, while the Army Men have already navigated multiple qualifying rounds to arrive at this stage.

Match overview

Having played amateur football only a decade ago, OFI Crete has made a stunning ascent to the pinnacle of Greek football, triumphing over domestic powerhouse AEK Athens in the Grécia Cup final in May, claiming O Omilos’ second major trophy.

Thanks to that unexpected victory at Allwyn Arena in spring, Christos Kontis’s side earned a place in the playoff round of the Europa League, putting them just two matches away from the League Phase proper.

Following a commendable season last year, OFI Crete suffered three consecutive friendly losses during the summer against Dutch teams Go Ahead Eagles (4-0), NAC Breda (3-2), and Willem II (2-1) before marking their return to competitive play with a victory.

O Omilos pushed the reigning Grécia champions AEK Athens to a penalty shootout in the Grécia Super Cup last Wednesday, courtesy of second-half goals from Thanasis Androutsos and Konstantinos Kostoulas, eventually winning the shootout.

Thursday’s hosts are stepping back into the European spotlight for the first time since the 2020-21 season, which saw them eliminated by Cypriot side Apollon Limassol in the second round of Europa League qualifying.

After finishing behind surprise winners Levski Sofia, runners-up CSKA 1948, and third-placed Ludogorets Razgrad in the Bulgarian top flight last season, CSKA Sofia was placed into the first round of Europa League qualifying this summer.

Consequently, unlike their Thursday opponents, the Army Men have had to fight through six matches to make it to this week’s fixture in Heraklion, defeating Derry City (5-3), Qarabag (0-0, 5-4 pens), and Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-3) over two legs.

Indeed, CSKA Sofia has already played 11 competitive matches in the early stages of the 2026-27 season, suffering just one defeat and enjoying an unbeaten start of five matches in their domestic campaign.

Despite a red card for forward Catalin Itu, Hristo Yanev’s squad achieved their most significant victory of the season thus far on Sunday, thrashing bottom-placed Botev Vratsa 5-0 at Vasil Lexi.

Joel Zwarts scored a brace over the weekend and has been in fine form with five goals in five top-flight appearances since his summer move from Lokomotiv Plovdiv; however, the 27-year-old has found the net just once in his six Europa League outings so far.

Team News

Following his competitive debut for OFI Crete against AEK Athens last weekend, Lorenzo Dickman might see action in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Up front, there are high expectations that Spanish midfielder Aitor Cantalapiedra can shine for O Omilos this season after joining from Vitoria in Brazil.

With experience from one of Greece’s top clubs, former Olympiacos player Dimitrios Nikolaou is on loan at OFI Crete from Italian side Palmero.

Having scored in the second leg against Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier this month, CSKA Sofia midfielder Stefano Sensi is likely to feature again this week.

Dutchman Zwarts is vying for a starting position after his impressive goal-scoring performance over the weekend, which means Argentine Leandro Godoy isn’t guaranteed a place in the starting XI.

OFI Crete probable starting XI:

Christogeorgos; Kostoulas, Sielis, Poungouras? Apostolakis, Karachalios, Androutsos, Athanasiou; Fountas, Cantalapiedra, Nuss

CSKA Sofia probable starting XI:

Lapoukhov; Ivanov, Gbamin, Rodriguez; Pastor, Ebong, Eto’o, Sensi, Yordanov; Pittas, Godoy

Last week’s Super Cup win would undoubtedly boost OFI Crete’s confidence as they approach their European return on Thursday.

CSKA has worked diligently to reach this stage and should be capable of at least securing a draw in the first leg.