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Ludogorets and Slavia Prague kick off their Europa League campaign at the Huvepharma Arena on Wednesday.
Ludogorets maintained their strong early-season form in the Bulgarian Parva Liga with a 2-0 home victory over Lokomotiva Sofia on Saturday. Zahari Sirakov’s men have seven wins from their opening eight league games and are level with Levski Sofia at the top of the pointes table.
The Bulgarian side get their campaign underway in the Europa League, having secured a 6-1 aggregate win over Petrocub in the playoff following their third-round exit from the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
Slavia, meanwhile, turned in a performance of the highest quality at the weekend, as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Czech 1. Liga.
Jindnich Trpisovsky’s side have won four games on the bounce, scoring nine goals and conceding once since a 2-0 defeat to Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille in August.
Despite clinching the 1. Liga title last season, Slavia failed to secure Champions League football, as they fell to a 3-2 aggregate loss to Lille in the final hurdle of the qualifiers.
Ludogorets vs Slavia Prague Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the second encounter - first competitive - between the two teams, with Ludogorets claiming a 2-1 victory in a friendly in June 2016.
- Ludogorets are unbeaten in eight games across competitions, picking up seven wins, since a 7-2 thrashing against Qarabag in August.
- Slavia have lost once in eight competitive away matches, claiming five wins, since April.
- Ludogorets have lost one of their last 10 competitive home games, picking up eight wins, since May.
Ludogorets vs Slavia Prague Prediction
Both sides head into the midweek clash on a solid run of form, so expect an action-packed contest. Nevertheless, the two sides could cancel out each other’s efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Ludogorets 2-2 Slavia
Ludogorets vs Slavia Prague Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Over 4.5 cards - Yes (There have been at least five bookings in Slavia's last six outings.)
Tip 3: Over 10.5 corners - No (There have been fewer than 11 corners in six of Slavia’s last seven games.)
