Ludogorets will host FC Astana in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League third qualification round at the Ludogorets Arena on Thursday.
Ludogorets will host FC Astana in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League third qualification round at the Ludogorets Arena on Thursday. Ivaylo Petev Bogdanov’s men will be looking to overturn their first-leg deficit after falling to a 2-1 defeat in last week’s reverse leg in Kazakhstan. On the other hand, Ludogorets have continued their fine form in the Bulgarian top flight. Ludogorets thrashed CSKA Sofia 3-0 last Sunday. Since losing 3-1 at Krumovgrad in the Parva Liga opener on July 14, Bogdanov’s side has won their subsequent three matches. Ludogorets have scored a staggering 13 goals and kept three clean sheets in that time. The Bulgarian side has already crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Olimpija. Likewise, they are on the cusp of an exit from the Europa League qualifiers following last week’s first-leg loss to Astana.
Meanwhile, Astana will look to build on last week’s result. However, the Kazak side has struggled recently. They are currently on a run of three defeats in their last four matches. Ludogorets have the firepower needed to get the job done on Thursday and turn their tie around. Given the recent run of Astana, it might not be a surprise if the Bulgarian side crawls back into the Europa League tie. Grigoriy Babayan’s men previously lost three successive matches across all competitions. A run which also saw them crash out of the Champions League qualifiers courtesy of a 6-0 humbling against Dinamo Zagreb. Let’s see who has the last laugh on Thursday.
Padt, Witry, Russo, Verdon, Heiste, Goncalves, Piotrowski, Vidal, Despodov, Tekpetey, Tissera
Condric, Hovhannisyan, Marochkin, Tomasevic, Beysebekov, Vorogovskiy, Tomasov, Loncar, Ebong, Ourega, Darboe
| Opponents | Score |
| CSKA Sofia | 3-0 (W) |
| Astana | 2-1 (L) |
| Botev | 0-5 (W) |
| Olimpija | 2-1 (L) |
| Olimpija | 1-1 (D) |
| Opponents | Score |
| Ludogorets | 2-1 (W) |
| Dinamo | 0-2 (L) |
| Qyzyljar | 1-0 (L) |
| Dinamo | 4-0 (L) |
| Atyrau | 0-0 (D) |
| Last match-result | Score |
| FC Astana beat Ludogorets | 2-1 |
The UEFA Europa League qualifier match between Ludogorets and FC Astana will take place at Ludogorets Arena on Thursday at 11:30 pm IST.
| Ludogorets vs FC Astana | Key Details |
| Date | August 17 (Bulgaria) |
| Venue | Ludogorets Arena |
| Kickoff time in Bulgaria | 9:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in Kazakhstan | 12:00 am |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:30 pm |
The qualification matches of the UEFA Europa League can be watched on the official website of UEFA worldwide. In Bulgaria, fans can watch the game on Play Diema Xtra and Diema Sport 3. However, there will be no telecast of this match in India.
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