CSKA Sofia and Levski will face tough tests in the Europa League on October 1, playing against Roma and Lazio, respectively, in a duel between Sofia and Rome that decidedly favours the Serie A sides.

Levski has the advantage of playing at home against Lazio, but both sides go into the contest ravaged by injuries and on a poor run of form.

Lazio were winless in five matches in September, grabbing two draws in the league and a surprise home defeat from Red Bull Salzburg in their Europa League opening match. Davide Ballardini has made a less than stellar managerial start at Lazio, with injuries to key players in defence further compounding his tenure.

Lazio is missing defensive lynchpins Sebastiano Siviglia and Lionel Scaloni, who are joined in the treatment room by Mobido Diakité and Aleksandar Kolarov, Gazzetta dello Sport said on September 30. Ballardini is expected to opt for a 4-4-2, with at least one of the team's youth players handed a start, the newspaper said.

An away match in Europe is a tough choice to blood youngsters, especially against a Levski team desperate for a result, following a string of four defeats, including three in the league.

"Lazio will surely put their best team forward and play for the win," Levski manager Ratko Dostanic said, dismissing reports that the visitors would field a second-string side. "I hope it is our team that gets out of the slump, but Lazio is twice as strong as we are, there is no point in deluding ourselves."

Levski will be without right-back Zhivko Milanov, while midfielder Darko Tasevski is a doubt.

Ballardini played down any gap between the teams, saying his side were not the favourites and that he was impressed with Levski's performance in the away defeat to group favourites Villareal. "After losing the first home match against Salzburg, the match in Sofia is decisive for us. We cannot afford more missteps."

The match will be broadcast live by Bulgarian National Television from 8pm, Bulgarian time.

CSKA Sofia travel to Rome in a better shape than their cross-town arch-rivals, leading the domestic league and unbeaten in all competitions this season. Unlike Roma manager Claudio Ranieri, CSKA head coach Lyuboslav Penev has no injury concerns.

In his pre-match news conference, Penev said Roma were the group favourites, despite losing their opening match to Basel. CSKA drew their first match against Fulham at home.

Penev said his side would not go into the match with a defensive mindset and said he was confident that the fans at the Stadio Olimpico would be treated to a goalfest.

Last year, CSKA let the title slip from its grasp despite Penev's mid-season appointment, which was meant to revitalise the title challenge. This season, however, he added some of Bulgaria's most up-and-coming young talents to the side, which resulted in an upset of Dinamo Moscow in the Europa League play-off round and a convincing victory over Levski in the league.

The team meets Roma at an opportune time, when the Italian side is in transition, according to Roma manager Ranieri. "Little by little, we are improving. We are in a period of transition and there is this moment of confusion. I hope we can string some good results, this is the best medicine for a team that needs to recover," Ranieri said, as quoted by Gazzetta dello Sport.

Ranieri could rest captain Francesco Totti, with an eye on the Serie A match against Napoli at the weekend, but defenders Philippe Mexès and Marco Cassetti are expected to be fit to play.

The match will be broadcast live by Pro.bg from 10pm, Bulgarian time.