Bulgaria will play the first of their two friendlies in the June international window when they welcome Cyprus to Plovdiv on Friday.

Meanwhile, the visitors will use the fixture as preparation for Tuesday's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Romania.

Match preview

© Imago

Bulgaria are set to return to action for the first time since they missed out on promotion to League B in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League.

Ilian Iliev's side set up a promotion/relegation playoff with Republic of Ireland after collecting nine points from six matches to finish in second place in Group C3.

However, their playoff tie ultimately ended in disappointment as they lost 2-1 in both legs to ensure that they will remain in League C for a third consecutive Nations League campaign.

Bulgaria will hope to bounce back in their upcoming two friendlies against Cyprus and Greece, before their 2026 World Cup qualification bid gets underway in September, with the Lions set to compete in a difficult qualifying group with Spain, Turkey and Georgia.

They will be targeting an improved attacking display in Friday's contest, having failed to score more than one goal in any of their last 12 internationals since they played out a 2-2 draw with Serbia in Euro 2024 qualifying in November 2023.

© Imago

Cyprus are still in the early stages of Akis Mantzios's tenure after he was named the successor to Sofronis Avgousti, who left his role in December after just four games to take the manager's job at Apollon Limassol.

Mantzios's first couple of games coincided with the start of his country's 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, with Cyprus competing in a group alongside Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and San Marino.

They began their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over San Marino, before they fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat in their away meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving them in third place in Group H after two matches.

Cyprus will resume their quest to reach their first-ever major tournament when they travel to Romania on Tuesday, but before they do, they will attempt to end a run of three consecutive away defeats in Friday's friendly fixture.

The visitors are also hoping to halt their winless run in games against Bulgaria, having lost four and drawn one of their last five meetings since recording a 4-1 home victory in a World Cup qualifier in October 2009.

Team News

© Imago

Bulgaria have decided not to risk captain Kiril Despodov for the upcoming friendlies after struggling with injury towards the end of the Greek Super League season with PAOK.

Aberdeen's Dimitar Mitov should start in goal for the hosts, with the shot-stopper likely to be shielded by a back four of Nikolay Minkov, Valentin Antov, Alex Petkov and Anton Nedyalkov.

Slavia Sofia striker Vladimir Nikolov is pushing for his first international start after scoring 10 goals in 24 appearances in the Bulgarian top flight in 2024-25.

As for the visitors, Joel Mall should feature between the posts in Friday's fixture, although there is the option to give game time to Dimitris Dimitriou and Neofytos Michail.

Christos Sielis and Konstantinos Laifis could feature in central defence, while Giannis Satsias and Giorgos Malekkidis are in contention to operate as the two full-backs.

AIK's Andronikos Kakoullis could be given the nod to lead the line, with the striker looking to add to his five-goal international tally.

Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Minkov, Antov, Petkov, Nedyalkov; A. Kraev, Gruev; L. Petkov, Milanov, M. Petkov; Nikolov

Cyprus possible starting lineup:
Mall; Satsias, Sielis, Laifis, Malekkidis; Loizou, Kosti, Kastanos, Kypriakou, Tzionis; Kakoullis

© PA Photos

We say: Bulgaria 1-0 Cyprus

Bulgaria have won four of their previous five meetings with Cyprus, and we think that they will continue that trend by making full use of home advantage to record a narrow victory in Friday's friendly encounter.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email