Levski vs Sabah: Europa Conference League Prediction (07.08.2025)

On Thursday, August 7 at 20:00 CET, at the Vivacom Arena – Georgi Asparuhov Stadium in Sofia, local club Levski will host Sabah from Masazir in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the 2025–2026 UEFA Conference League. In the current season, the Bulgarian side managed to eliminate Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Europa League but then lost to Braga and dropped into the Conference League. The Azerbaijanis also started in the Europa League, suffering defeat to Slovenian side Celje, but advanced to this round of the Conference League by beating Moldova’s Petrocub.

In the Levski – Sabah matchup, bookmakers clearly favour the hosts, although the visitors also retain decent chances. A home win for the “Blues” is priced at 1.87, while their progression odds stand at 1.80. For the “Owls”, the same markets offer 4.50 and 2.01 respectively. The first leg is expected to be low-scoring: total over 2.5 is at 2.36, and both teams to score is at 2.12.

Levski

Spanish coach Julio Velázquez joined the team midway through last season and led them to the silver medals in the Bulgarian championship. In fairness, the “Blues” came second without much competition — finishing 11 points behind Ludogorets and 13 points ahead of third-placed Cherno More.

A striking indicator of their attacking issues is that across four matches against Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Braga, Levski failed to score a single goal in normal time. The attack relies on the interplay between Everton Bala and Marin Petkov, but their combination play up front still looks unconvincing.

Sabah

In the summer, the modest club from Masazir appointed Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas. Last season, the “Owls” finished only fifth out of ten teams in the Azerbaijan Premier League, but produced a real sensation by winning the national cup, snatching the trophy from Qarabag in extra time. Against Celje in the Europa League they were unlucky in extra time, but against Petrocub in the Conference League qualifiers they looked very confident.

Stats and Head-to-Head Record

The teams have never met before in European competition.

Prediction

Sabah’s international squad looks lively and tries to play attacking football, but we will lean towards the more experienced hosts: a win for Levski at odds of 1.87.