It has been dubbed the "eternal derby", the match that pits against each other the two most successful football clubs in Bulgaria’s history. Levski and CSKA have dominated Bulgarian football so thoroughly that only once in the past 60 years did neither of the two finish in the top three in the league.

And the reason? The two teams clashed in the 1985 Bulgarian Cup final and after a series of disputed refereeing decisions, the match had to be interrupted because of a melee between the players of the two clubs. CSKA won that match eventually, but a short while later both clubs were disbanded by an order of the Communist authorities of the time and their point totals for the season voided.

Several players were banned from football for life, including a young hot-headed CSKA striker by the name of Hristo Stoichkov, as well as Levski goalkeeper Borislav Mihailov, now the most capped player in Bulgaria’s history and president of the Bulgarian Football Union, and defender Emil Velev, Levski’s current manager.

It could not last long, however, and three months later the clubs were set up anew, albeit under new names. A year later, all player bans had been rescinded and by 1989, the clubs had got their old names back.

In the past decade, the two clubs won eight championships – five for Levski and three for CSKA, although the latter remain in the lead with a record 31 titles, five more than Levski. Separated by only four points with five matches to go and with third-place Cherno More Varna 15 points off the pace, this season will be no different in that the title will stay with one of the two usual suspects.

CSKA has the more difficult run-in: four of its final five matches are against the other teams in the top five. After Levski at home, CSKA travel to Cherno More, face fourth-place Lokomotiv Sofia at home and then Litex Lovech away. Levski’s schedule, by comparison, includes matches against relegation-threatened Spartak Varna and Minyor Pernik, as well as mid-table sides Pirin Blagoevgrad and Slavia Sofia.

The first match between the two teams in autumn ended in a 1-1 draw, with Levski serial offender Georgi Ivanov nabbing the equaliser to set a new Levski record with his 15th goal against CSKA. Levski never lost a match against CSKA when Ivanov has scored, but the striker is set to miss the match with a thigh injury this time around.

Having already overtaken Levski in the league standings this spring, a win on May 9 would effectively hand the title to CSKA, confirming the trend of the recent years – whoever holds the edge in the head-to-head meetings usually is crowned champion.