Ludogorets Razgrad v Astana

Ludogorets vs Astana Preview

Ludogorets return to the more familiar surroundings of their Huvepharma Arena on Thursday night for this 2nd leg of their 3rd Qualifying Round tie against Kazakhstan visitors, Astana, on Thursday night as the Bulgarian hosts look to overhaul this one-goal deficit.

Despite last week's 2-1 defeat away at the Astana Arena, Ludogorets did bounce back in impressive fashion on the weekend in the Bulgarian top flight when they registered a comprehensive 3-0 victory against CSKA Sofia and Ludogorets manager, Ivaylo Petev, will be demanding a repeat of this performance in Thursday night's crucial return leg.

However, this may be easier said than done as the Bulgarian outfit have managed to collect just four wins from their last nine games in all competitions amidst a mixed bag of results which have also seen Ludogorets suffer four defeats within this period as well.

Results on home soil though suggest Ludogorets do have a chance of gaining a positive result in this 2nd leg as the hosts are unbeaten in their previous 15 matches overall, each of which have also seen the home side score at least once.

Last week's 2-1 win at their Astana Arena not only gave Astana the upper hand in this two-legged Europa League tie against Ludogorets but it also put an end to a worrying three-match losing streak for the Kazakhstan club, so the visitors will also feel upbeat about their chances here on Thursday night.

Previously, Astana had embarked upon qualifying for the Champions League and all was going well following a 3-2 win on aggregate against Dinamo Tbilisi until the next qualifying round when they came a cropper in a 6-0 loss on aggregate to Dinamo Zagreb, so Astana now need to take their chances in the Europa League instead.

Astana have also lost three of their last four away games in all competitions which have seen the Kazakhstan side slump to defeats against Ordabasy in the domestic cup competition along with losses incurred against Dinamo Zagreb and Kyzyl-Zar, so the prospects of an away win here does seem unlikely.

In addition, Astana have managed to pick up just one win from their previous 11 outings on the road in the Europa League so this upcoming trip to face Ludogorets may be a tall order for Grigoriy Babayan's side.

Ludogorets v Astana Verdict

Both Ludogorets and Astana will fancy their chances of winning this return leg at the Huvepharma Arena and both teams look likely to score here in what could turn out to be another entertaining spectacle with both sides desperate to progress through to the play-off stage.

The winner of this 3rd Qualifying Round tie will meet Dutch giants, Ajax, in the next round.

Therefore, our main bet will be Both Teams To Score Yes @ 2.00

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 4.00

Correct score: 1-1 @ 8.00