Botev (Plovdiv) will meet Maribor in the first qualification round of the Europa League. This determined the draw today in Nyon, Switzerland. The first match will be on July 11 at the “Hristo Botev” stadium in Plovdiv, and the second leg – on July 18 at the “Lyudski Vrt” in Maribor, Slovenia.
Maribor is the most successful club in its country. In their history, the “violets” have 16 Slovenian titles and another 9 national cups. Last season, Maribor finished in 2nd place in the local championship. In the last 15 years, the team from Slovenia has invariably participated at least in the qualifiers of the European club tournaments. Maribor last qualified for the group stage in the 2017/18 season, when they fought their way into the Champions League groups.
Botev marks his return to the European scene. The Canaries last played in Europe in the 2022/23 season, when they were knocked out in the Conference League qualifiers by APOEL of Cyprus. The last participation of the “yellow-black” in the Europa League was in 2017/18, when they eliminated two teams before being eliminated in the third qualifying round by the Portuguese Maritimo.
So far, Botev has not faced Maribor or Slovenian teams in general. On the other hand, the “violets” have a total of 4 official matches against Bulgarian teams, and each of them ended in a draw.
