# 2018–19 Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

The 2018–19 Second League was the 63rd season of the Second League, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system, and the 3rd season under this name and current league structure. In June 2018, the Executive Committee of the Bulgarian Football Union decided to increase the participating teams to 18 for the 2019–20 season; as a result, only two teams will be relegated to Third League. The fixture list was released on 8 June 2018. The participating teams were confirmed on the same day. FC Tsarsko Selo Sofia became champions of the second league and were promoted directly to the first division. FC Dobrudzha Dobrich and PFC Nesebar were relegated.

## Teams

The following teams have changed division since the 2017–18 season.

## Stadia and locations

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Arda | Kardzhali | Druzhba | 15,000 |
| Botev | Galabovo | Energetik | 3,000 |
| Chernomorets | Balchik | Gradski, Balchik | 3,100 |
| CSKA 1948 | Sofia | Vasil Levski National Stadium | 43,230 |
| Dobrudzha | Dobrich | Druzhba | 12,500 |
| Kariana | Erden | Sport Complex Kariana | 1,000 |
| Litex | Lovech | Gradski, Lovech | 8,100 |
| Lokomotiv | Gorna Oryahovitsa | Lokomotiv, Gorna Oryahovitsa | 10,500 |
| Lokomotiv | Sofia | Lokomotiv, Sofia | 22,000 |
| Ludogorets II | Razgrad | Eagles' Nest | 2,000 |
| Montana | Montana | Ogosta | 8,000 |
| Nesebar | Nesebar | Nesebar | 7,000 |
| Pirin | Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev | 7,500 |
| Pomorie | Pomorie | Pomorie | 2,000 |
| Strumska Slava | Radomir | Gradski, Radomir | 3,500 |
| Tsarsko Selo | Sofia | Tsarsko Selo Sports Complex | 2,000 |

## Personnel and sponsorship

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Kit sponsor |
| Arda | Stamen Belchev | Borislav Stoychev | Nike | — | — |
| Botev Galabovo | Gospodin Mirchev | Nikolay Yankov | KRASIKO | Galabovo Municipality | Knauf |
| Chernomorets Balchik | Georgi Ivanov | Genadi Lugo | Legea | Balchik Municipality | — |
| CSKA 1948 | Petko Petkov | Evgeni Zyumbulev | Errea | Efbet | — |
| Dobrudzha Dobrich | Emil Velev | Daniel Gramatikov | KRASIKO | Albena Resort | Pioneer Seeds, Izida |
| Kariana | Veselin Velikov | Evgeni Ignatov | Joma | Upgrade | — |
| Litex | Zhivko Zhelev | Plamen Nikolov | adidas | — | — |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Mladen Dodić | Vladislav Romanov | Joma | Efbet | Malizia, Intesa, VIA 2000 |
| Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | Krasimir Mechev | Krasen Trifonov | KRASIKO | Efbet | Prity, Enel, Go Grill |
| Ludogorets Razgrad II | Radoslav Zdravkov | Oleg Dimitrov | Umbro | Efbet | Vivacom, Spetema |
| Montana | Ferario Spasov | Ivan Mihov | Jako | Efbet | — |
| Nesebar | Nikolay Zhechev | Nikolay Kostov | Joma | Nesebar Municipality | Efbet |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Petar Zlatinov | Yulian Popev | Erreà | Katarino Spa | — |
| Pomorie | Radoslav Boyanov | Georgi Petkov | Joma | Efbet | — |
| Strumska Slava | Vladimir Dimitrov | Todor Zyumbulev | Jumper | Efbet | — |
| Tsarsko Selo | Nikola Spasov | Simeon Ganchev | Nike | Winbet | — |
Note: Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only one sponsorship is permitted per jersey for official tournaments organised by UEFA in addition to that of the kit manufacturer (exceptions are made for non-profit organisations). Clubs in the domestic league can have more than one sponsorship per jersey which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. Shorts also have space available for advertisement.

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Lokomotiv GO | Aleksandar Dimitrov | End of contract | 23 May 2018 | Pre-season | Todor Kiselichkov | 10 June 2018 |
| Tsarsko Selo | Velislav Vutsov | Mutual consent | 1 June 2018 | Pre-season | Nikola Spasov | 1 June 2018 |
| Pomorie | Veselin Branimirov | Signed by Riga | 12 June 2018 | Pre-season | Radoslav Boyanov | 22 June 2018 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Mladen Dodić | End of contract | 14 June 2018 | Pre-season | Angel Kolev | 14 June 2018 |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Milen Radukanov | End of contract | 19 June 2018 | Pre-season | Petar Zlatinov | 20 June 2018 |
| CSKA 1948 | Valentin Iliev | Mutual consent | 21 August 2018 | 4th | Petko Petkov | 24 August 2018 |
| Kariana | Atanas Dzhambazki | Sacked | 21 August 2018 | 14th | Veselin Velikov | 26 August 2018 |
| Arda | Elin Topuzakov | Sacked | 26 August 2018 | 7th | Stoycho Stoev | 26 August 2018 |
| Lokomotiv GO | Todor Kiselichkov | Mutual consent | 18 September 2018 | 16th | Marin Baichev (caretaker) | 11 October 2018 |
| Botev Galabovo | Lyudmil Kirov | Signed by Vereya | 27 September 2018 | 4th | Gospodin Mirchev | 27 September 2018 |
| Dobrudzha | Diyan Bozhilov | Mutual consent | 6 November 2018 | 16th | Emil Velev | 13 November 2018 |
| Lokomotiv GO | Marin Baichev (caretaker) | Caretaking spell over | 13 December 2018 | 9th | Krasimir Mechev | 13 December 2018 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Angel Kolev | Mutual consent | 17 December 2018 | 11th | Mladen Dodić | 17 December 2018 |
| Arda | Stoycho Stoev | Signed by Ludogorets | 6 March 2019 | 3rd | Stamen Belchev | 6 March 2019 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tsarsko Selo (C, P) | 30 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 68 | 27 | +41 | 76 | Promotion to the First League |
| 2 | Montana | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 49 | 22 | +27 | 63 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Arda (P) | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 18 | +26 | 62 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | CSKA 1948 | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 39 | 18 | +21 | 59 | |
| 5 | Litex | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 45 | |
| 6 | Strumska Slava Radomir | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 37 | |
| 7 | Chernomorets Balchik | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 37 | |
| 8 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 28 | −3 | 36 | |
| 9 | Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 30 | 43 | −13 | 36 | |
| 10 | Pomorie | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 36 | |
| 11 | Ludogorets Razgrad II | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 32 | Ineligible for promotion |
| 12 | Kariana | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 31 | |
| 13 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 29 | 49 | −20 | 31 | |
| 14 | Botev Galabovo | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 31 | |
| 15 | Nesebar (R) | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 27 | Relegation to the Third League |
| 16 | Dobrudzha Dobrich (R) | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 17 | 38 | −21 | 22 | Relegation to the Third League |
* 1 2 Strumska Slava Radomir is ahead of Chernomorets Balchik on head-to-head points: Strumska Slava–Chernomorets Balchik 1–0, Chernomorets Balchik–Strumska Slava 2–1.
* 1 2 3 Lokomotiv Sofia is ahead of Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa and Pomorie on head-to-head points: Lokomotiv Sofia 8 pts, Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa 6 pts, Pomorie 2 pts.
* 1 2 3 Kariana is ahead of Pirin Blagoevgrad and Botev Galabovo on head-to-head points: Kariana 9 pts, Pirin Blagoevgrad 4 pts, Botev Galabovo 4 pts.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARD | GAL | CBA | CSK | DOB | KAR | LIT | LGO | LSO | LUD | MON | NES | PIR | POM | STR | TSS |
| Arda | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Botev Galabovo | 2–3 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| Chernomorets Balchik | 1–3 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| CSKA 1948 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Dobrudzha Dobrich | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Kariana | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Litex | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 |
| Lokomotiv GO | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad II | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–3 | — | 1–3 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| Montana | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Nesebar | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | — | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| Pomorie | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 1–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–5 |
| Strumska Slava | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 |
| Tsarsko Selo | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | — |

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Tsarsko Selo | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Montana | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Arda | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| CSKA 1948 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Litex | 12 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Strumska Slava | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Chernomorets | 11 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 10 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Lokomotiv GO | 7 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 |
| Pomorie | 15 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Ludogorets II | 16 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Kariana | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Pirin | 4 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Botev Galabovo | 6 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 |
| Nesebar | 1 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Dobrudzha | 13 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |

## Top scorers

    As of match(es) played on 23 May 2019
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Georgi Minchev | Tsarsko Selo | 29 |
| 2 | Andon Gushterov | CSKA 1948 | 20 |
| 3 | Atanas Iliev | Montana | 18 |
| 4 | Ventsislav Hristov | Arda | 12 |
| 4 | Denislav Aleksandrov | CSKA 1948 | 12 |
| 4 | Vladislav Zlatinov | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 12 |
* ↑ Includes 6 goals for Ludogorets Razgrad II