Preview: Ferencvaros vs Ludogorets Razgrad - prediction, team news, lineups

Ferencvaros and Ludogorets Razgrad have everything to play for on Tuesday as they meet in the decisive second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.

Last week’s goalless stalemate left the contest delicately poised heading into the clash in Budapest, although the Bulgarian champions will this time be without the comforts of home support.

Match preview

As the scoreline reflected, the first leg in Razgrad was a low-key affair in attacking terms, with Ferencvaros registering the only two shots on target and likely to try and seize the initiative in front of their own crowd this time around.

Robbie Keane’s men have opened the scoring in four of their six matches this season across both the Hungarian top flight and continental qualifiers, underlining a habit for quick starts that could serve them well again on Tuesday.

The Greens have taken victory in four of those competitive fixtures and arrive with momentum after edging Noah 4-3 in a thrilling encounter in Budapest to clinch a 6-4 aggregate win in the previous round.

The Hungarian champions returned to their prolific ways after last week’s draw, sweeping aside Nyiregyhaza 4-1 in the top flight to move top of the standings and carry a winning mood into this midweek European battle.

Ferencvaros are chasing a place in the Champions League group stage for only the fourth time in their history, having previously achieved the feat in 1992-93, 1995-96 and 2020-21.

Ludogorets, meanwhile, have only reached the competition proper twice, in 2014-15 and 2016-17, and would need to survive another test of endurance to replicate that achievement.

The Eagles have already been through the wringer in this campaign, requiring extra-time victories over Dinamo Minsk and Rijeka to advance from the earlier rounds.

Having failed to make home advantage count last week, the Bulgarians face another stern challenge, particularly given their hosts have won each of their last three matches at Ferencvaros Stadion.

Nevertheless, Ludogorets can draw on a positive memory from Budapest, where they claimed a 3-0 victory in 2019 when the sides met in the Europa League group stage.

However, the Eagles lost both legs in their only previous tie in this competition’s qualifiers earlier that year, going down 5-3 on aggregate.

With a reputation for defensive solidity, Rui Mota’s men will fancy their chances of keeping things tight on Tuesday, having kept clean sheets in five of their last seven games across all competitions, including a 3-0 win over Slavia Sofia at the weekend.

Ferencvaros Champions League form:

Ferencvaros form (all competitions):

Ludogorets Razgrad Champions League form:

Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions):

Team News

Ferencvaros come into this tie with the same absentees as in the first leg in Razgrad, with Aleksandar Pesic still sidelined due to injury, while Ibrahim Cisse continues to serve a continental suspension.

This is likely to see Keane stick with a three-man defensive unit of Toon Raemaekers, Gabor Szalai and Stefan Gartenmann shielding goalkeeper Denes Dibusz, who is expected to return between the posts.

Young forward Zsombor Gruber boosted his case for a start with a brace at the weekend, while Jonathan Levi also found the net, but Barnabas Varga is almost certain to spearhead the attack again after scoring in that same game.

Ludogorets also report no fresh injury concerns and have the added boost of Olivier Verdon returning from suspension.

Mota heavily rotated his side for the weekend fixture, with only Pedro Naressi, Mounir Chouiar and Caio Vidal retaining their places from the first-leg meeting against Ferencvaros.

Yves Erick Bile and Ivaylo Chochev strengthened their claims for inclusion after both scoring against Slavia, while Petar Stanic is also in strong contention to start, having come off the bench to net the third in that match.

Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; Botka, Szalai, Gartenmann; Cadu, Keita, Kanichowsky, Nagy; Gruber, Levi; Varga

Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:

Padt; Andersson, Shishkov, Kurtulus, Nedyalkov; Chorchev, Stanic, Naressi; Vidal, Chochev, Chouiar; Blie

We say: Ferencvaros 1-0 Ludogorets Razgrad (Ferencvaros win 1-0 on aggregate)

This is a tight encounter to predict given both sides’ strong form, but the expectation is for a cagey affair with limited scoring chances, and Ferencvaros may just edge it with the lift provided by their home support.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.