# 2017–18 Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

The 2017–18 Second League was the 62nd season of the Second League, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system, and the 2nd season under this name and current league structure. The fixture list was released on 22 June 2017.

## Teams

The following teams have changed division since the 2016–17 season.
a.^ Zagorets, the champions of South-East Third League, declined promotion due to financial and organizational reasons; Maritsa Plovdiv took their place as runners-up. b.^ CSKA Sofia II officially declined to participate in the South-West Third League and was dissolved.

## Stadia and locations

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Botev | Galabovo | Energitik | 3,000 |
| Botev | Vratsa | Hristo Botev | 12,000 |
| Chernomorets | Balchik | Gradski, Balchik | 3,100 |
| 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 |
| Maritsa | Plovdiv | Botev 1912 Football Complex | 3,500 |
| Montana | Montana | Kiprovets, Chiprovtsi | 1,600 |
| Neftochimic | Burgas | Gradski, Balgarovo | 3,000 |
| Nesebar | Nesebar | Nesebar Stadium | 7,000 |
| Oborishte | Panagyurishte | Orcho Voyvoda | 3,000 |
| Pomorie | Pomorie | Lazur, Burgas | 18,037 |
| Sozopol | Sozopol | Arena Sozopol | 3,500 |
| Strumska Slava | Radomir | Gradski, Radomir | 3,500 |
| Tsarsko Selo | Sofia | Tsarsko Selo | 2,000 |
A.^ Maritsa Plovdiv will play at Botev 1912 Football Complex because their Maritsa Stadium is not licensed for Second League. B.^ Montana will play at Kiprovets Stadium in Chiprovtsi due to ongoing renovation works at their Ogosta Stadium. C.^ Neftochimic will play at Gradski Stadium in Balgarovo for financial reasons. D.^ Pomorie will play at Lazur Stadium in Burgas due to renovation works at their Pomorie Stadium.

## 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 |
| Botev Galabovo | Lyudmil Kirov | Georgi Kirilov | KRASIKO | Galabovo Municipality | Knauf |
| Botev Vratsa | Sasho Angelov | Ivaylo Mihaylov | Jumper | WinBet | |
| Chernomorets Balchik | Georgi Ivanov | Genadi Lugo | Legea | Balchik Municipality | |
| Litex | Zhivko Zhelev | Ivaylo Radentsov | adidas | | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Mladen Dodić | Aleksandar Branekov | Joma | Efbet | Malizia |
| Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | Aleksandar Dimitrov | Mariyan Ivanov | KRASIKO | Efbet | Prity, Enel, Go Grill |
| Ludogorets Razgrad II | Radoslav Zdravkov | Ventsislav Kerchev | Umbro | bet365 | Vivacom, Spetema |
| Maritsa | Dimcho Belyakov | Iliya Nikolov | Sportika | Hristov Commerce | |
| Montana | Ferario Spasov | Ivan Mihov | Jako | Efbet | |
| Neftochimic | Diyan Petkov | Stanislav Zhekov | KRASIKO | Masterhaus | |
| Nesebar | Nikolay Zhechev | Nikolay Kostov | Joma | Efbet | |
| Oborishte | Ivan Atanasov | Tsvetomir Tsonkov | KRASIKO | Asarel Medet | |
| Pomorie | Veselin Branimirov | Georgi Petkov | Erreà | Pomorie Municipality, Efbet | |
| Sozopol | Margarit Dimov | Ivan Yanchev | KRASIKO | | |
| Strumska Slava | Vladimir Dimitrov | Nikolay Nikolov | Sportika | | |
| Tsarsko Selo | Velislav Vutsov | Simeon Ganchev | Nike | | |
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 |
| Oborishte | Emil Velev | End of contract | 1 June 2017 | Pre-season | Georgi Chilikov | 9 June 2017 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Yavor Valchinov | Mutual consent | 2 June 2017 | Pre-season | Mladen Dodić | 9 June 2017 |
| Neftochimic | Hristo Yanev | Resigned | 3 June 2017 | Pre-season | Nikolay Krastev | 23 June 2017 |
| Montana | Atanas Atanasov | End of contract | 11 June 2017 | Pre-season | Yavor Valchinov | 14 June 2017 |
| Botev Galabovo | Ivan Vutov | Signed by Etar | 16 June 2017 | Pre-season | Svetoslav Todorov | 16 June 2017 |
| Nesebar | Nikolay Rusev | Appointed as Head of Academy | 18 June 2017 | Pre-season | Nikolay Zhechev | 18 June 2017 |
| Oborishte | Georgi Chilikov | Signed by Ludogorets Razgrad | 14 August 2017 | 4th | Angel Slavkov | 14 August 2017 |
| Montana | Yavor Valchinov | Resigned | 27 August 2017 | 12th | Ferario Spasov | 28 August 2017 |
| Pomorie | Malin Orachev | Resigned | 27 September 2017 | 14th | Veselin Branimirov | 27 September 2017 |
| Neftochimic | Nikolay Krastev | Demoted to assistant | 6 October 2017 | 16th | Blagomir Mitrev | 6 October 2017 |
| Botev Galabovo | Svetoslav Todorov | Mutual consent | 16 November 2017 | 12th | Lyudmil Kirov | 21 November 2017 |
| Oborishte | Angel Slavkov | Mutual consent | 2 December 2017 | 12th | Ivan Atanasov | 12 December 2017 |
| Neftochimic | Blagomir Mitrev | Signed by Vereya | 2 January 2018 | 16th | Diyan Petkov | 3 January 2018 |
| Tsarsko Selo | Nikola Spasov | Signed by Kyzylzhar | 3 January 2018 | 2nd | Veselin Velikov | 3 January 2018 |
| Sozopol | Rumen Dimov | Resigned | 24 April 2018 | 15h | Margarit Dimov | 24 April 2018 |
| Maritsa Plovdiv | Stoyan Dimitrov | Resigned | 30 April 2018 | 14th | Dimcho Belyakov | 30 April 2018 |
| Tsarsko Selo | Veselin Velikov | Mutual consent | 8 May 2018 | 3rd | Velislav Vutsov | 8 May 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Botev Vratsa (C, P) | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 46 | 20 | +26 | 64 | Promotion to the First League |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 63 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Tsarsko Selo | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 56 | 28 | +28 | 63 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Montana | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 50 | 20 | +30 | 56 | |
| 5 | Nesebar | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 44 | |
| 6 | Pomorie | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 41 | |
| 7 | Botev Galabovo | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 41 | |
| 8 | Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 40 | |
| 9 | Ludogorets Razgrad II | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 40 | Ineligible for promotion |
| 10 | Litex Lovech | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 39 | |
| 11 | Chernomorets Balchik | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 39 | |
| 12 | Strumska Slava Radomir | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 36 | |
| 13 | Oborishte (R) | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 33 | Relegation to the Third League |
| 14 | Maritsa Plovdiv (R) | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 33 | Relegation to the Third League |
| 15 | Sozopol (R) | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 25 | 47 | −22 | 24 | Relegation to the Third League |
| 16 | Neftochimic (R) | 30 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 15 | 62 | −47 | 9 | Relegation to the Third League |
* 1 2 Lokomotiv Sofia is ahead of Tsarsko Selo on head-to-head points: Lokomotiv Sofia–Tsarsko Selo 0–0, Tsarsko Selo–Lokomotiv Sofia 1–2.
* 1 2 Pomorie is ahead of Botev Galabovo on head-to-head points: Pomorie–Botev Galabovo 0–0, Botev Galabovo–Pomorie 0–1.
* 1 2 Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa is ahead of Ludogorets Razgrad II on overall goal difference.
* 1 2 Litex Lovech is ahead of Chernomorets Balchik on head-to-head goal difference: Litex Lovech–Chernomorets Balchik 4–0, Chernomorets Balchik–Litex Lovech 1–0.
* 1 2 Oborishte is ahead of Maritsa Plovdiv on head-to-head goal difference: Oborishte–Maritsa Plovdiv 1–2, Maritsa Plovdiv–Oborishte 0–3.

## Results

| Home \ Away | GAL | BVR | CBA | LIT | LGO | LSO | LUD | MAR | MON | NEF | NES | OBO | POM | SOZ | STR | TSS |
| Botev Galabovo | | 0–4 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Botev Vratsa | 0–0 | | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Chernomorets Balchik | 4–1 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Litex | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 1–3 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad II | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| Maritsa Plovdiv | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Montana | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Neftochimic | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Nesebar | 1–5 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Oborishte | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Pomorie | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Sozopol | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Strumska Slava Radomir | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–6 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 1–3 |
| Tsarsko Selo | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–2 | |

## Top scorers

    As of match(es) played on 19 May 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Svetoslav Dikov | Tsarsko Selo | 25 |
| 2 | Iliya Dimitrov | Lokomotiv Sofia | 17 |
| 3 | Ivan Kolev | Botev Vratsa | 15 |
| 3 | Vladislav Mirchev | Chernomorets Balchik | 15 |
| 5 | Pavel Petkov | Tsarsko Selo | 11 |
| 5 | Atanas Iliev | Montana | 11 |
| 7 | Nikolay Kostov | Nesebar | 10 |
| 7 | Petar Atanasov | Botev Vratsa | 10 |
| 9 | Nikolay Tsvetkov | Lokomotiv Sofia | 9 |
| 9 | Ivan Kokonov | Montana | 9 |
| 9 | Ventsislav Gyuzelev | Maritsa Plovdiv | 9 |
| 9 | Deyan Hristov | Lokomotiv GO | 9 |
| 9 | Kristiyan Peshov | Sozopol | 9 |
| 14 | Spas Georgiev | Botev Vratsa | 8 |
| 14 | Iliyan Kapitanov | Oborishte | 8 |
| 14 | Ahmed Ahmedov | Pomorie | 8 |
| 14 | Denislav Aleksandrov | Ludogorets Razgrad II | 8 |
| 14 | Kristiyan Tasev | Strumska Slava | 8 |
| 14 | Zhivko Petkov | Pomorie | 8 |
| 20 | Ivaylo Stoyanov | Strumska Slava | 7 |
| 20 | Rangel Ignatov | Maritsa Plovdiv | 7 |
| 20 | Ivan Tsachev | Botev Galabovo | 7 |

### Notes

* ↑ Including 8 goals for Nesebar.
* ↑ Including 3 goals for Montana.
* ↑ Including 6 goals for Botev Galabovo.