Looking to record their first win of the league phase at the seventh attempt, Ludogorets Razgrad will welcome FC Midtjylland to Huvepharma Arena on Thursday night in the Europa League.
The Eagles have collected just three points from their opening six matches in the competition, whilst the Wolves are also at risk of being eliminated prior to the knockout stages.
Match preview
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Winning the Bulgarian Premier League in each of the last 13 campaigns, Ludogorets Razgrad are undoubtedly the big fish in a small pond domestically, with Thursday's hosts already 13 points ahead of second-placed Botev Plovdiv in the race for the first-tier crown in 2025.
That being said, the Eagles have faced serious difficulty in translating their domestic dominance onto the European stage over recent years, as has been the case during 2024-25, with the Bulgarian champions failing to win any of their opening six matches in the league phase of the Europa League.
As a result, Ludogorets Razgrad currently occupy a lowly 32nd position in the 36-team rankings with just three points, trailing a top-24 spot by four points heading into the final two gameweeks, meaning that Igor Jovicevic's men need to halt their worrying run on the continental stage on Thursday to have any hopes of making the next round.
There were signs of potential recovery on December 12 from the Eagles, who secured a 2-2 draw at the Huvepharma Arena against Eredivisie giants AZ Alkmaar, with goals from Ivailo Chochev and Switzerland international Kwadwo Duah sealing a respectable share of the points.
Mimicking his team's habit of shrinking in power on the European stage, 23-year-old Rwan Cruz has bagged 10 goals in 18 league appearances so far this season, although the Brazilian has failed to perform on the continent, finding the net just once across 13 European matches during 2024-25.
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Midtjylland will return to competitive action on Thursday night in Bulgaria for the first time following their winter break, with their most recent fixture ending in a hardly-surprising defeat at the home of Portuguese giants Porto in the Europa League a few weeks before Christmas.
Managing just a single shot on target across the entire contest, the Wolves were undoubtedly second best on the road last time out, when goals either side of the half-time whistle from Danny Loader and Samuel Aghehowa secured a comfortable success for Vitor Bruno's talented crop.
The Danish club's only action since the turn of the calendar year arrived in friendly form last Wednesday evening, when a Mikel Gogorza striker and a brilliant brace from Zambian striker Edward Chilufya sealed victory during a five-goal thriller against Champions League-competing Red Bull Salzburg.
Focusing on Europa League matters for the time being, a defeat at Porto in December has left Midtjylland clinging onto a spot in the playoffs heading into the final two games of the league phase, with the Wolves in 23rd spot, ahead of 25th-placed Braga because of a superior goal difference.
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Team News
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Picking up his third yellow card of the league phase last time out, Ludogorets' Pedro Naressi will serve a one-match suspension on Thursday night.
As a result, the Eagles will need to come up with a new solution in the middle of the park, with Aguibou Camara likely to come into the midfield three.
Midtjylland are battling on without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Elias Olafsson, who broke his arm last month, meaning that he will be sidelined until the middle of February.
There are also major absentees at the top end of the pitch for the Wolves, with striker Franculino last featuring for his club side in October.
As is the case with Ludogorets, Thursday's visitors to Bulgaria will be without a key midfielder at Kristoffer Olsson continues to recover from illness.
Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:
Padt; Kurtulus, Verdon, Almeida, Gropper; Chochev, Camara, Piotrowski; Marcus, Rick, Duah
FC Midtjylland possible starting lineup:
Lossl; Gabriel, Diao, Bech, Bak; Andersson, Martinez, Sorensen; Chilufya, Gogorza, Buksa
We say: Ludogorets Razgrad 2-0 FC Midtjylland
Formidable on their own patch domestically and following a good point against AZ Alkmaar last time out, Ludogorets Razgrad should be confident of recording a much-needed win on Thursday night.
Midtjylland's performances and results drop off a cliff on their travels, and we cannot envisage the Wolves earning anything from a trip to Bulgaria this week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
