Slavia Sofia vs Hajduk Split Preview and Predictions

Aron Wright - July 31, 2018

Slavia Sofia vs Hajduk Split
UEFA Europa League
Date: Thursday, 2nd August 2018
Kick-Off at 17:00 UK / 18:00 CET
Venue: Nacional Stadion Vasil Levski (Sofia).

• Only in their second Europa League qualifying campaign, Slavia Sofia are in danger of getting knocked out after losing 1-0 in the first leg.
• Their opponents Hajduk Split is a team that made deep runs in the qualification round for the past six seasons, however, they haven’t qualified for the group stage since 2010.
• The Croats have a strong attack, the match is poised to see more than 1 goal as Slavia have a few game changers on their own.

Slavia Sofia vs Hajduk Split Betting Tips

Both teams to Score at 2.10.

Double Chance – Slavia or Draw at 2.00.

Slavia Sofia vs Hajduk Split Match Preview

Hajduk began a very successful Europa League qualifying campaign just against Bulgarian opposition in the previous term of the competition. They dispatched Levski Sofia with two narrow wins before shocking Danish giants Brondby 2-0 on aggregate. Sadly, they ran into Everton in the play-offs stage, falling only 3-1 on aggregate to the Premier League outfit.

The Croatian side is set to start the new European journey against Bulgarian rivals once again. It’s still Sofia, but this time Slavia as the head coach Zeljko Kopic hopes for the same outcome. The visitors are nowhere near their golden years back from early 90s. They even had to play the relegation round in the domestic league last year.

You must wonder how they qualified for the European competition after all. They won the Bulgarian Cup, beating just city rivals Levski on penalties in the final (0-0 in the regular time).

Unlike Hajduk, Slavia had to feature the opening qualifying round where they saw off Ilves in both legs (3-1 on aggregate). The success was inspired by the attacking midfielder Galin Ivanov who notched two or team’s three goals. He bagged nine in the last season and he is no doubt Slavia’s main weapon.

Slavia began the new season in the domestic league with a 1-1 draw to Beroe at home. They featured Europa League just once in the past, two years ago when they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Zaglebie Lubin in the first qualifying round. They lost the away fixture 3-0 back then.