Sofia side will bet on a powerful finish: prediction for Levski vs Universitatea Craiova
The first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round between Levski and Universitatea Craiova will take place on Wednesday at the Vivacom Arena – Georgi Asparuhov in Sofia. The Bulgarian champions eased past Bosnian side Borac with a 5-1 aggregate, while the Romanian team beat ML Vitebsk twice and also kicked off their domestic campaign in confident fashion.
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Levski: a team that steps up after the break
The first match against Borac ended in a rather unconvincing 1-1 draw for Levski, but the Sofia outfit showed their superiority at home. All four goals in the return leg came in the second half, with the hosts netting three times in just 17 minutes.
This trend has been evident in other games too: after halftime, Levski increases the intensity, takes more shots, and dominates possession. In their league clash with Dunav, the team won 2-1, but Julio Velázquez was dissatisfied with the overall quality and pushed his players to stay fully focused ahead of the Champions League tie.
Universitatea Craiova: early tests proved too easy
The Romanian side had no real trouble dispatching ML Vitebsk, winning 4-1 away and 1-0 at home. Filipe Coelho's men then crushed UTA Arad 4-0, although three of those goals came after the 87th minute, once the opposition had completely opened up.
Coelho has been rotating his starting lineup, aiming to share the workload evenly across the squad. Ronaldo Webster is sidelined through injury, but the visitors still have several attacking options, including Steven Nsimba, Assad Al-Hamlawi, and new signing Simon Elisor. Last season's experience of away trips in the Conference League should also help the team handle the pressure from the stands.
Match facts and head-to-head
- Five of Levski's last seven matches have gone over 2.5 goals.
- Both teams scored in three of the Bulgarian side's last five games.
- Universitatea have won three official matches in a row with a combined score of 9-1.
The hosts will press after the break: prediction for Levski vs Universitatea Craiova
Universitatea come into this clash in good form and have valuable experience from tough European away games. However, their recent opponents have allowed them too much freedom in attack—something they won’t get in Sofia, where the pressure and resistance will be much higher.
Levski are especially dangerous in second halves and can gradually seize control thanks to their tempo and home crowd support. Everton has already provided three assists in three matches this season, and the return of fresh legs after squad rotation should help the hosts secure a narrow victory.
