The race for points in Europe is starting

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·15 September 2026

The race for points in Europe is starting

Europa League opener at Levski Sofia

The Europa League anthem will sound again this Thursday! Our league phase opener takes us to Bulgaria, where we face Levski Sofia at 18:45. While the club usually play at the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, they contest their UEFA home matches at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

Walking UEFA Europa League encyclopedias among you will surely know that we’ve faced them before - specifically during the 2009/10 group stage. While the scorelines back then lacked glamour, we’d certainly take the same results today. Our Red Bulls won both matches 1–0, and the away game in Bulgaria was particularly dramatic, as the winning goal came in the very last second.

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What about the current form of both teams? We head into this clash unbeaten, though we had to settle for a draw in Ried last Friday. The situation is similar for our hosts - who ended Ludogorets Razgrad’s long run of dominance by winning the 2025/26 league title. Coach Julio Velazquez’s team currently sit atop the domestic league with eight wins and one draw. However, their match on Sunday ended goalless, and just days earlier, they lost a Bulgarian Super Cup derby against CSKA Sofia 2–4. You can read more interesting facts about our opponents here:

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This clash promises pure excitement with three crucial opening points up for grabs! Fans in Austria can cheer us on via Sky Sport Austria or ServusTV (and ServusTV ON).

Predict our UEFA Europa League clashes in the My RBS Prediction Game!

You can also put your expertise to the test on the European stage in the My RBS Prediction Game! Compete week after week against friends and other fans to win great prizes - participation is completely free! So, if you haven't already, sign up via the button below and enter your predictions for the upcoming match.

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Injury news

Soumaila Diabate (thigh) and Johannes Moser (adductors) are unavailable for this match.
Gaoussou Diakite returned to training this week.

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We are looking forward to the start of the league phase, for which we worked hard and made it through two qualifying rounds. Now we head to Levski - they are having a very good season so far, having won eight of their nine league matches. We will prepare thoroughly for this because we want to pick up points there. Generally, we are really looking forward to Europe, as it allows us to test ourselves in an outstanding competition against great teams from across the continent.

Danny Röhl

We are really looking forward to the start of the Europa League. Matches like these are exactly what you put in all the work for. Levski have a good team and will certainly push us to the limit, but we want to play boldly, use our pace, and show right from the start that we aim to achieve something in this league phase.

Kevin Boma

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