2026-2027 Europa League: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. CSKA Sofia, Probable Lineups

The long preliminary phase of the European cup competitions continues, now in its third round: as for the Europa League, there’s also an Italian face in the mix—that of Stefano Sensi, a midfielder for CSKA Sofia, who will face Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the neutral Adjarabet Arena in Batumi, Georgia—a venue chosen because it is impossible to play on Israeli soil due to the delicate geopolitical situation in the Middle East.

Maccabi Tel Aviv began its season by winning the national Super Cup (defeating Hapoel Beer Sheva 3-1): They then entered the Europa League in the second qualifying round and disposed of Sheriff Tiraspol with relative ease, defeating them 5-0 in Moldova (a brace by Abu Farkhi and goals by Peretz, Jehezkel, and Sissokho) and 1-0 in Batumi, capitalizing on Koné’s own goal. Last year, Maccabi competed in the Europa League group stage but finished in last place.

CSKA Sofia began its journey in this edition of the Europa League in the first qualifying round, narrowly defeating Derry City twice (3-2 in Bulgaria, 2-1 in Northern Ireland) before getting the better of Azerbaijan’s Qarabag, though not without difficulty. In both the first and second legs, the score remained deadlocked at 0-0: it took a penalty shootout (in which Sensi also scored) to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the main phase of the tournament, from which CSKA has been absent since the 2020–2021 season.

Probable Lineups

Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-3-3): Melika; Yehezkel, Shlomo, Camara, Revivo; Noy, Sissokho, Shahar; Varela, Peretz, Abu Farkhi. Coach: Miller.

CSKA SOFIA (5-3-2): Lapoukhov; Pastor, Ivanov, Gbamin, Rodriguez, Martino; Ebong, Jordao, Sensi; Godoy, Pittas. Coach: Yanev.