Belgian giants Anderlecht welcome Ludogorets Razgrad to Lotto Park for the second leg of their Europa Conference League playoff on Thursday evening.
Ludogorets won the first leg in Bulgaria last week thanks to Igor Thiago's first-half header, although the tie is still very much in the balance as Anderlecht do not have the away goals rule to worry about when they host this week's decider.
Match preview
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Anderlecht's goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen conceded the first shot of the game against Ludogorets last Thursday in a match where he had little else to do aside from picking the ball out of his own net.
Ludogorets failed to register a single attempt on goal in the second half, sitting on an advantage which was made to look increasingly slender when Anders Dreyer hit the post and Benito Raman fluffed a one-on-one for the visitors.
Up against Belgian First Division strugglers Kortrijk on Sunday, Brian Riemer only made three changes to the Anderlecht side which let Ludogorets off lightly, yet nervily watched on as Michael Murillo nabbed an 83rd-minute equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw for the underperforming Belgian behemoths.
After another two points dropped, Anderlecht are plumbing the depths of ninth place in the Belgian top flight, which would be the club's lowest final league position since finishing 11th in 1937.
Anderlecht have claimed just two victories from their last 10 home matches across all competitions, losing six and failing to score in half of this dire sequence.
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Ludogorets followed up their European triumph with a dramatic victory against capital side Slavia Sofia in the Bulgarian top flight on Sunday, snatching all three points through Nonato in stoppage time which had been created by Slavia's repeated time-wasting.
The late show in the Huvepharma Arena kept Ludogorets one point behind league-leading CSKA Sofia as the efbet Liga enters an enthralling final third of the season.
Ante Simundza's side is unbeaten in nine games across all competitions, last choking on the sour aftertaste of a competitive defeat in November when Ludogorets lost their final Europa League group game to Roma in the Italian capital.
The Bulgarian juggernaut has not won an away game in European competition - outside of the qualifying rounds - since defeating Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the Europa League in October 2019, several months before the coronavirus pandemic began.
Ludogorets have only once reached the last 16 of a continental tournament in their history, defeating Serie A's Lazio over two legs to get to that stage of the Europa League in 2014 before bowing out in the next round against La Liga's Valencia.
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Team News
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Murillo proved his importance to Anderlecht with his fifth goal of the season on Sunday - only one player in the current squad has been more prolific - but the right-back will miss the upcoming second leg after collecting his fifth booking in the Conference League this season in Bulgaria.
Thursday's European tie may come just too soon for centre-back Hannes Delcroix as he nears the end of his recovery from a knee injury while midfielder Marco Kana is also a doubt with a toe problem.
Ludogorets will continue to be without Olivier Verdon as the first-team regular serves the second of a three-game suspension in European competition following his red card against Roma in the club's most recent continental away match.
Angola international Manuel Cafumana was shown his fifth yellow card of the season in European football against Anderlecht in the first leg, forcing the ill-disciplined midfielder onto the sidelines.
However, Simundza will be able to once again call upon his captain Anton Nedyalkov and the Polish midfielder Jakub Piotrowski after the pair sat out the first leg through suspension.
Ludogorets' influential winger Rick and the less decisive but equally absent centre-back Dinis Almeida are sidelined with torn knee ligaments.
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Sadiki, Debast, Vertonghen, Sardella; Arnstad, Diawara, Verschaeren; Dreyer, Raman, Stroeykens
Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:
Padt; Witry, Russo, Plastun, Nedyalkov; Piotrowski, Naressi; Despodov, Nonato, Tekpetey; Thiago
We say: Anderlecht 2-0 Ludogorets Razgrad
Goals have been hard to come by for Anderlecht all season - and their potency has not been aided by the January departure of top scorer Fabio Silva - but we are backing the Belgian side to get two against what will almost certainly be a stubborn, but susceptible, low block from Ludogorets.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Grey Whitebloom
