Matchday in focus: PFC Levski Sofia | OneFootball

Young, versatile and a sprinkle of Brazilian flair: PFC Levski Sofia are a confident side who have a goalscorer named Ronaldo in their ranks.

Tactics

Levski head coach Nikolay Kostov has proven himself to be tactically versatile since his appointment in June. The club from the Bulgarian capital have already played with a back three and a back four in UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying, as well as with a lone striker, a front two and – most recently – an all-Brazilian front three featuring wingers Welton and Ronaldo and centre-forward Ricardinho. Indeed, nearly half of Levski’s starting XI in their last game were from the South American nation.

Three hard-fought victories and a goalless draw have earned Kostov’s team a meeting with SGE in the play-offs.

Absentees

The Bulgarian outfit are without striker Bilal Bari, attacking midfielder Marin Petkov and defender Jeremy Petris (all injured). Nikolay Mihaylov is a doubt with a virus.

Lucas Alario and Sebastian Rode are still recovering from injuries, while Makoto Hasebe and Hugo Larsson are both ill.

One to watch: Ronaldo

Levski might not have made the play-offs at all had it not been for attacking wideman Ronaldo. The 22-year-old scored a late winner in the third qualifying round second leg against Hapoel Beer Sheva, finding the net in the sixth minute of added time.

Reunited

Ricardinho and Tuta both graduated from the São Paulo FC youth academy and were part of the club’s U20 side in early 2019.