CSKA 1948 begins its European campaign against Spartak Trnava

CSKA 1948 returns to the European stage with an away trip to Slovakian Spartak Trnava as part of the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The match is an important step in the 'reds' quest to continue their adventure in continental club competitions.

For Alexander Alexandrov's team, this is their third consecutive appearance in the tournament. Following the failure against FCSB in 2023 and the elimination of Budućnost Podgorica, followed by a loss to Pafos in 2024, the team is attempting to achieve greater success.

Alexandrov's selection has demonstrated interesting dynamics at the start of the season, managing to make up ground in their last league derby against Spartak Varna, which ended in a 2:2 draw. During the summer, the team made more modest signings, focusing on three foreigners – Hector Queyar, Jules Meyer, and Moataz Zemzemi, as well as the return of local players like Boris Dimitrov and Kostadin Iliev.

Spartak Trnava enters this matchup without any official matches this season, but they possess interesting names, including former Levski player Roman Procházka and former CSKA player Juanmi Carrión.

The winner of this pairing will face a serious test in the third qualifying round, where the Greek giant Panathinaikos awaits.

Predicted Lineups:

CSKA 1948: Petar Marinov, Diego Medina, Andre Hoffman, Lasha Dvali (c), Ognjen Gašević, Bryan Sobrerro, Moataz Zemzemi, Hector Queyar, Georgi Rusev, Jules Meyer, Mamadou Diallo.

Spartak Trnava: Martin Vántruba, Kristian Košrna, Erik Sabo, Melos Bajrami, Martin Mikovič, Roman Begala, Marin Laušič, Filip Trelo, Luka Horčeli, Philip Azango, Taimen Wildebur.