Reigning Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad host struggling Belgian behemoths Anderlecht in the first leg of their Europa Conference League playoff on Thursday.
Ludogorets find themselves in Europe's third-tier club competition after dropping out of the Europa League, while Anderlecht were ushered into the Conference League playoff as a consequence of finishing second in the group stage of the competition.
Match preview
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The Eagles returned to league action after a lengthy winter break on Saturday, beating Spartak Varna 2-1 with goals from Kiril Despodov and Igor Thiago in the club's first competitive outing since the opening week of December.
In the intervening months, Ludogorets tuned up for their European tie with five friendlies against an eclectic mix of clubs held in Turkey before the Kahramanmaras earthquake tragically struck the area.
Ludogorets finished third in their Europa League group this season, narrowly missing out on the knockout stages of the competition after losing to Jose Mourinho's Roma in their final game despite holding a half-time lead.
Ante Simundza's side began their Europa League group stage with a famous victory over Roma at the Huvepharma Arena in September and have only lost one of their subsequent nine home games across all competitions.
This will be Ludogorets' first appearance in the one-year-old Europa Conference League but the new-money Bulgarian giants are no strangers to continental club football, competing in the group stage of the Champions League or Europa League in each of the last seven seasons.
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Anderlecht extended their unbeaten sequence to four matches with a 3-1 victory over Sint-Truidense VV on Sunday, with Benito Raman finding the net and pretending to open a can of beer in celebration after being pictured in the stands of the club's previous match sipping on an alcoholic beverage.
Raman will not have been the only Anderlecht spectator to turn to the booze during a dire season for the 34-time Belgian champions, who sit in the depths of 10th place.
Brentford's former assistant manager Brian Riemer took over from caretaker Robin Veldman in December after Felice Mazzu was hurriedly moved on before Halloween, but the tide of results has only begun to tentatively turn in the last month.
Riemer took the reins of a club in such significant financial turmoil they cannot afford to heat the training ground hot tub, placing even more pressure on advancing in European competition to collect the prize money offered by a lengthy run.
Anderlecht advanced to the Conference League playoff by finishing as runners-up to West Ham United in the group stage of the competition, losing home and away to the Londoners but going unbeaten against FCSB and Silkeborg.
Among clubs that made it out of the group stage, Anderlecht were the second-lowest scorers, racking up just six goals in as many matches.
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Team News
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Simundza will be without Rick, who either scored or created five of the team's eight Europa League group-stage goals, while the Brazilian winger recovers from torn knee ligaments.
The former Royal Antwerp centre-back Dinis Almeida will not be able to renew any rivalries with Anderlecht while he nurses a knee injury which has dogged him all season.
Olivier Verdon was sent off in Ludogorets' final Europa League group game and will have to sit out the tie against Anderlecht as his suspension is carried across UEFA competitions.
Captain Anton Nedyalkov and midfielder Jakub Piotrowski will also be sidelined after collecting three yellow cards in European competition this season.
Doubts linger over Anderlecht's Marco Kana and Hannes Delcroix as the pair have been carrying toe and knee injuries respectively.
Adrien Trebel missed the entire group stage lumbered with a shoulder issue and is at risk of sitting out the first knockout tie while he recovers from a hamstring problem.
Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:
Padt; Witry, Terziev, Russo, Gropper; Naressi, Cafumana; Tekpetey, Nonato, Despodov; Thiago
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Murillo, Debast, Vertonghen, Sardella; Refaelov, Ashimeru, Verschaeren; Dreyer, Raman, Amuzu
We say: Ludogorets Razgrad 1-2 Anderlecht
Ludogorets may boast home advantage but a combination of injury and suspension has robbed the Bulgarian champions of numerous key figures during their long wait for competitive football.
Anderlecht are not the force they once were, but we are backing Riemer's reinvigorated outfit to earn an away win worthy of a champagne celebration they can not quite afford at the moment.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Grey Whitebloom
