Bulgarian football clubs CSKA and Lokomotiv, both from capital Sofia, will take on French opponents in their UEFA Cup first round ties on Thursday as they chase passage to the group stage of the tournament.

CSKA will have a wealth of experience in Europe to draw on as they travel to Toulouse, who ended two decades of European exile this season, with the match scheduled to start at 9.30 pm Bulgarian time.

The two clubs approach the game with very different domestic form however - CSKA undefeated and top of their league after five games, while Toulouse linger in the bottom half of the French Ligue 1, albeit having played fewer games.

CSKA's expensively-assembled squad will see anything but qualification as a failure, but will face a resolute Toulouse intent on making up for the easy capitulation against Liverpool in the Champions League qualifiers last month.

Dane Nicolai Vollquartz will referee the game, assisted by his fellow countrymen Bo Abildgaard and Martin Wulff, with Emil Laursen as the fourth official.

Lokomotiv, the other team without a single loss in Bulgaria's top division, host high-flying Rennes, third in the standings in France.

As its own stadium does not meet UEFA criteria, the match will be played at CSKA's Balgarska Armiya ground, starting from 8.30 pm Bulgarian time.

The match will be refereed by Northern Ireland's David Malcolm, assisted by John McDowell and Andi Regan, with Adrian McCourt as the fourth official.

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