Borac Banja Luka vs Levski Sofia - prediction, team news, lineups

Match preview

Borac's 2025-26 home run was the astir ascendant successful the club's post-independence history.

Under Vinko Marinovic, Borac secured a grounds 4th Bosnian Premier League rubric with a 1-0 triumph distant to Sarajevo connected May 3, sealing the title with 4 matches inactive to play.

The Bosnian champions finished the play with 27 wins, 5 draws and 4 defeats from 36 league matches, conceding an mean of conscionable 0.8 goals per game.

A commanding 6-0 triumph implicit Rudar Prijedor connected the opening time successful precocious July acceptable the code for a ascendant run that besides included notable wins implicit Sarajevo and Zrinjski Mostar.

Tuesday's archetypal limb astatine the Gradski Stadion volition beryllium the first-ever competitory gathering betwixt Borac and Levski, with the 2 clubs ne'er having faced each different successful UEFA contention oregon immoderate different authoritative fixture.

Levski's rubric occurrence was arsenic historic, arsenic the nine ended a 17-year hold for the Bulgarian First League crown aft past winning it successful 2009, overcoming a play marked by fiscal turmoil and the menace of collapse.

Head manager Julio Velazquez guided the Sofia broadside to the championship, ending Ludogorets Razgrad's grounds streak of 14 consecutive league titles successful the process.

Levski finished the run with 25 wins, six draws and 5 defeats from 36 league matches portion scoring 71 goals, and though they besides lifted the Bulgarian Cup successful 2021-22, this league triumph carries acold greater significance.

Levski besides boast the stronger European pedigree, having go the archetypal Bulgarian nine to scope the UEFA Champions League radical signifier successful 2006-07, wherever they faced Barcelona, Chelsea and Werder Bremen.

The Sofia outfit person besides featured successful aggregate Europa League radical stages and reached the European Cup quarter-finals successful some 1975-76 and 2005-06.

Borac Banja Luka signifier (all competitions):

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Levski Sofia signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Luka Juricic heads into the necktie aft scoring 27 goals successful each competitions during the 2025-26 season, making him Borac's biggest attacking threat.

Stefan Savic contributed 7 goals and 7 assists from midfield, portion David Vukovic provides creativity successful the last third, Sandi Ogrinec and Srdan Grahovac adhd extent successful midfield, and Nemanja Jaksic offers reliability astatine right-back.

Eighteen-year-old goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas has already established himself successful Borac's archetypal squad and earned a spot successful Bosnia and Herzegovina's World Cup squad this summer.

For Levski, Everton Bala led the club's title-winning complaint with 19 goals successful each competitions, portion Juan Perea added 12 and Armstrong Oko-Flex scored 9 to supply further attacking firepower.

Mazire Soula, who led the squad with 9 assists, remains Levski's main originative power from cardinal oregon wide midfield, portion the visitors besides person gait and directness successful the wide areas.

Borac Banja Luka imaginable starting lineup:

Jurkas; Jaksic, Pascual, Sanicanin, Herrera; Ogrinec, Grahovac, Savic; Vukovic, Hrelja, Juricic 

Levski Sofia imaginable starting lineup:

Vutsov; Maicon, Makoun, Dimitrov, Kamdem; Bouras, Trdin, Soula; Perea, Oko-Flex, Bala

We say: Borac Banja Luka 2-1 Levski Sofia

Home advantage, a higher UEFA coefficient and the assurance of a settled squad that wrapped up the Bosnian rubric with 4 matches to spare marque Borac flimsy favourites to instrumentality a first-leg lead.

Levski person plentifulness of attacking quality, but their distant grounds successful European qualifiers nether Julio Velazquez is inactive unproven astatine this level.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.