Nijmegen vs Levski Sofia Prediction & Tips | Europa League - League phase | FootballTips.app

NEC Nijmegen and Levski Sofia meet at the Goffertstadion with both sides still searching for their first points of the Europa League league phase. NEC opened with a heavy 5-0 defeat away to Juventus, while Levski were beaten 1-0 at home by Salzburg.

NEC’s European start was particularly damaging, with their defeat in Turin the heaviest suffered by a Dutch side in the Europa League since AZ lost 7-1 to Lyon in 2017. Dick Schreuder’s team have now lost three consecutive European matches, including qualifiers, by an aggregate score of 11-1.

Their domestic form has at least shown some signs of resilience. NEC earned a 1-1 draw away to Ajax last time out, responding quickly after conceding early as Tjaronn Chery converted a first-half penalty before they defended with greater discipline under sustained pressure.

Levski also arrive on the back of a positive domestic result, winning 2-0 away to Cherno More. El Mehdi El Moubarik opened the scoring before Reinaldo added a second after the interval, giving Julio Velázquez’s side a useful boost after their narrow European defeat.

The Bulgarian side were largely toothless on matchday one, however, failing to register a single shot on target despite attempting 14 efforts against Salzburg. Their away record in major European competition is another concern, with only six wins from 65 such matches.

NEC remain in poor overall form, but home advantage and Levski’s limited European away pedigree should give them confidence. The visitors have also lost all six previous away games in the Netherlands, conceding at least twice on every occasion.