Enough with words, time for action! Levski and CSKA face each other on Saturday at 15:45 at the national stadium, and the full stands and hundreds of thousands in front of the screens await a spectacle that the eternal rivals are bound to provide. Stanislav Genchev and Alexander Tomas will feel the coaching passions for the first time in match #1, but they are prepared by the clashes in it as players. Already a month ago, they stepped into the roles of professional boxers before a title fight and grabbed each other's throats. On the eve of the match, they tried to calm the ball, but it is clear that the passions in the stands will rage and hopefully the momentum from there will be carried over to the field.
And on the field we will see blue-red antagonism – so it was, so it will be. But this time it will be available in a slightly different shade. Simply because the styles of the two teams are radically different. In the arena we will see Levski professing extremely simple football. Stanislav Genchev is trying to squeeze the maximum out of limited players, and so far he is doing it with an aggressive game in attack and successful plays in static situations. The ball does not stay in the center much, and the midfielders do not have a serious impact on the game. On the other side of the barricade, they will try to present something radically different – the much more complex tactical ideas of Alexander Tomas, which, however, have so far failed to be realized by his wards. It remains to be seen if the processes in the military will finally crystallize this time, or if the blue will simply prove effective.
Stanislav Genchev quickly managed to clarify the starting eleven and rarely makes changes. Interestingly, he solved the problems in one move – used Captain Tsunami, which has functions of the chess piece “knight“. He was retrained from left back to central defender, and then to defensive midfielder. He will now be moved back to defense because Venezuela international Cristian Macun is not fully fit to play. He has an adductor injury. The rest of the rear guard in front of the goalkeeper Markovic will be Christian Dimitrov and Kelian van der Kaap. In front of the trio in defense will be Carlos Ohene. Genchev will certainly let Everton into the midfield, and the only dilemma is who to bet on as his partner. The options are Assen Mitkov, Javad El Jemili, Marin Petkov and Hasimi Fadiga. The former has played the least, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he starts. Aldair and Maikon will act on the flanks, and in attack the powerful rams Alex Kolev and Mustafa Sangare will harass the red defense.
That is where the main question mark for CSKA coach Alexander Tomas is. This morning it will be finally clear whether Liam Cooper will be able to take part in the derby. He suffered a torn abdominal muscle in September's 1-0 loss in the last round and has not trained fully since. However, the Scot is ready to grit his teeth and play on painkillers. The final decision will be made by the medical staff. Cooper and Hristiyan Petrov, who has played very poorly since the beginning of the season, have equal chances to start as Lumbard Delova's partners. The match will miss another central defender – Brian Cordoba, who has a heel problem. The other dilemma for Tomas is who to lead the attack, but he is more likely to prefer Aaron Iseka to Godwin Koyalipu. The biggest news in CSKA's starting line-up has to do with left winger Zyumur Butucci, who will start as a starter for the first time since being signed in the summer. Mathias Phaeton will remain on the bench. He has not trained with the team once in the past two weeks after being committed to the national team of Guadeloupe, and in recent days he had to travel to Paris, where his partner gave birth prematurely and gave him a child. The young dad will still be on the bench on Saturday and is expected to feature after the break. Jason Lokillo will start on the right wing.
Before the break for the national teams, both giants were shaken and conceded defeats. That is why there is no room for retreat in the derby. Levski can rely on his much better results to date, but he has not been one of the leaders so far. For CSKA, the campaign is tragic, but the team has not lost in the last five clashes with the Blues – 3 wins and 2 draws. In general, we are waiting for a derby at the poles, and in front of full stands!