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

Ludogorets Razgrad and Ferencvaros aim to make significant progress towards the Champions League playoff round when they face off in Wednesday's third qualifying round first-leg match at Ludogorets Arena.

Bulgaria's dominant side have eliminated Dinamo Minsk and Rijeka to reach this stage, while their opponents advanced past Noah in the second qualifying round to get here, and they strive to maintain their unbeaten run dating back to pre-season.

Match preview

It is safe to say that Ludogorets have endured two nerve-wracking victories in Champions League qualifying to reach the third round.

After claiming a 1-0 home win over Dinamo Minsk, a 2-1 defeat in Hungary forced extra time; however, Yves Erick Bile's goal in the 100th minute levelled the tie and secured the aggregate win for the Eagles.

Against Rijeka, Rui Mota’s team required extra time in Razgrad as the score was even after 90 minutes — both teams played out a goalless draw in Croatia — but goals from Ivaylo Chochev and Stanislav Ivanov sealed the 3-1 aggregate triumph.

The Bulgarian club’s reward for both extra-time victories is an encounter with Ferencvaros, whom they have not lost to in the past two competitive fixtures, although those were six years ago in the Europa League group stage, when they won 3-0 in Budapest and drew 1-1 on home soil.

Although so much time has passed since those two results, Mota, whose team's only loss in 90 minutes this season came with the 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Minsk in mid-July, aims to improve their five-match unbeaten streak.

Standing in the Bulgarian club's path are Ferencvaros, who have remained unbeaten since returning for pre-season.

After securing wins over Mezokovesd-Zsory (4-0), Zilina (1-0) and Karlsruher (2-1), three more victories from four games across all competitions have followed, with the only draw a 1-1 league result at MTK Budapest on July 26, which preceded the visit of Noah in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

Robbie Keane's men entered that match after claiming a 2-1 comeback away win over the Armenians, and they left no stone unturned ahead of the second leg in Budapest.

While the 4-3 win in Hungary may have appeared to be a tense tie, FTC and Dradi were never truly at risk of losing their advantage, although they were guilty of not maintaining more comfortable leads — they led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, only to be pegged back each time until Barnabas Varga's 74th minute sealed the 4-3 victory at Ferencvaros Stadion and a 6-4 win on aggregate.

Having claimed a 3-0 victory over Kazincbarcika in the Hungarian top flight over the weekend, Keane will hope that their first clean sheet since the 1-0 pre-season win over Zilina in early July bodes well ahead of Wednesday's visit to Razgrad.

Ludogorets Razgrad Champions League form:

Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions):

Ferencvaros Champions League form:

Ferencvaros form (all competitions):

Team News

While Mota does not appear to have any injury problems ahead of Wednesday's game, Olivier Verdon will miss the first leg due to suspension.

Ludogorets have had five different goalscorers in Champions League qualifying so far, with Ivanov, Erick Marcus, Bile, Kaloc and Chochev all finding the net, suggesting that the Bulgarians do not rely on a single source for decisive moments.

That theory is supported by the fact that only one player — Chochev — has scored more than one goal for the Eagles in top-flight play after three games.

Like the hosts, Ferencvaros also do not face significant injuries apart from Aleksandar Pesic, but Ibrahim Cisse will miss Wednesday's match due to suspension.

Varga scored both winning goals against Noah, completing the comeback in the 2-1 victory in Armenia and netting the fourth in the unpredictable 4-3 win a week later to conclude July, and the forward will hope to display the same game-changing ability for the Hungarian giants.

Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:

Padt; Andersson, Shishkov, Almeida, Nedyalkov; Kaloc, Duarte; Ivanov, Chochev, Chouiar; Blie

Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Ludogorets Razgrad 2-2 Ferencvaros

Although Ferencvaros kept a clean sheet in their most recent league match, Keane’s team have struggled with shutouts in other competitive fixtures this season, conceding in three of them.

While Ludogorets have experienced more defensive success, with four clean sheets out of seven in all competitions, the Hungarian team’s goal-scoring ability suggests the hosts might not be able to prevent goals for the full 90 minutes.

Therefore, the match in Razgrad on Wednesday could end in a draw, with both teams scoring, making the second leg next week poised to be exciting.

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