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Derry City vs CSKA Sofia Prediction & Betting Tips 16.07.2026
Derry City vs CSKA Sofia Prediction 16.07.2026. Derry City welcome CSKA Sofia to the Brandywell on Thursday for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League first qualifying round tie, with the Bulgarians holding a slender aggregate lead.
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- Go 22betDerry City vs CSKA Sofia: Best Betting Odds
Match Preview
Derry City
Tiernan Lynch’s side go into this second leg on the back of three matches that tell a clear story – they can score, but they can’t stop the other team doing the same. On 26 June they beat Drogheda United 2-0 at home, a tidy result that briefly looked like a platform to build on. That form disappeared a week later when Waterford came to the Brandywell and left with a 4-2 win, Derry racking up 70% possession and six shots on goal but still shipping four at the other end. Then came the first leg in Sofia, where Derry actually matched CSKA for large spells. Ioannis Pittas curled CSKA in front, Liam Boyce levelled from a Michael Duffy free-kick eleven minutes later, Bruno Jordao restored the lead with a thumping strike, Pittas added a third, and Derry kept pushing right to the death – James Olayinka heading home from a corner in the 89th minute to make it 3-2. That’s three matches, eight goals conceded, and a defence that simply cannot keep clean sheets right now. Brian Maher is back in goal after returning to the side on 3 July, but the same players in front of him have been walked through repeatedly. The positive is that Derry keep finding the net themselves, home or away, which at least gives their home crowd something to shout about on Thursday.
CSKA Sofia
Hristo Yanev’s side arrive in Derry full of confidence after a first leg that showed both the good and the shaky sides of this team. Their last competitive fixture before the European campaign began was actually a defeat – a 1-0 loss away to Ludogorets Razgrad on the final day of the Bulgarian league season, despite having 53% of the ball and eight shots on target. They shook that off in preseason, beating Marek 1915 Dupnitsa 3-0 in their final warm-up game, with Stefano Sensi opening the scoring inside five minutes before Petko Panayotov and Pittas added second-half goals. Then in Sofia last week, CSKA showed exactly why they’re the favourites in this tie – and exactly why nobody should assume this is over. Pittas scored twice, Jordao added a third from range, and CSKA led 3-1 with the game seemingly won, only to concede a stoppage-time corner and let Olayinka in for a headed goal that kept Derry’s hopes alive. CSKA have scored plenty in this Europa League run so far, but their defending in the final ten minutes of that first leg will worry Yanev, especially away from their own crowd.
Head-to-Head
These two have history from 2009-10, when CSKA drew 1-1 away at Derry before winning 1-0 at home to progress. That pattern of tight, goal-filled games has repeated itself here, with the first leg finishing 3-2 in Sofia’s favour. CSKA go into Thursday needing just a draw or a narrow defeat to go through.
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Derry City vs CSKA Sofia: Prediction & Betting Tips
- Derry have scored in seven of their last eight away matches in Europe and found the net twice against CSKA already, including a stoppage-time header from a corner.
- CSKA have conceded eight goals across their last three matches (Ludogorets, the Marek friendly aside, and the first leg) and let Derry back into the tie from 3-1 up.
- Both sides have found the net in every one of their last three outings, and neither defence has managed a clean sheet in that stretch.
Kick-off Time: 16.07.2026 19:30 CET
Competition: UEFA Europa League
Prediction: Both teams to score – Yes
Odds: 1.80
Sportsbook: Ivibet - Ivibet
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