CSKA looking unstoppable

By Pawel Dimow

PFC CSKA Sofia's blistering start to the new campaign - they have won all eight league games so far – shows no sign of abating as they chase their own record of 13 wins from the start of the season set two years ago.

Emphatic start
CSKA have already amassed a quite staggering 30 goals and conceded just four to move two points clear of PFC Levski Sofia, who have also made an emphatic start, at the head of the Bulgarian Premier League.

Levski lead chase
Aside from two dropped points in a 2-2 draw at reigning champions PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv - courtesy of a 92nd-minute equaliser by Lokomotiv striker Boban Jancevski - Levski have matched CSKA blow for blow, winning seven of their eight games to date.

Derby day approaches
Something will have to give when the two sides meet on 17 October, in their first match after the international break. Both will be keen to put their European disappointments behind them – they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup by FC Steaua Bucuresti and KSK Beveren respectively – with both local bragging rights and the championship lead going to the winner.

New coach
PFC Litex Lovech, despite a 5-1 mauling by Grazer AK in the first round of the UEFA Cup, lie in third place in the league, with five wins from their eight games. Level on points with Litex, and desperate to compete in European competition next season, are PFC Slavia Sofia who have replaced coach Ratko Dostanic with his assistant Atanas Dzhambazki. Blagoy Georgiev's impressive form in midfield for Slavia has earned him his first international cap, in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Croatia.

Champions 'out of sorts'
Meanwhile, reigning champions Lokomotiv Plovdiv, despite four league wins, have yet to find their form of last season and already trail CSKA by ten points. PFC Cherno More Varna have picked up form and points after a dreadful beginning that brought just three points from the opening five fixtures. They are now in the top of the table after winning two of their last three games, including a 2-0 success against Plovdiv.

Spartak Varna struggling
The bulk of the Premier League clubs are mired in mid-table with two points separating nine teams. PFC Spartak Varna are not among them - the financially-troubled club are already adrift at the bottom with three points from a possible 24.