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

Trailing by one goal after last week's first leg, Ludogorets Razgrad will have a deficit to overturn when they host Shkendija in the second leg of their Europa League playoff.

The teams reconvene on Thursday evening, with a prestigious place in the league phase at stake.

Match preview

Despite taking an early lead in Skopje last week, Ludogorets were unable to maintain that momentum, as Shkendija struck back before half time, and Besart Ibraimi then scored their winner on the hour mark.

It was just the Eagles' second loss of the season, having made a near-flawless start to their defence of the Bulgarian title, winning four and drawing one of five top-flight matches so far.

While they occupy a familiar spot atop the First League standings, Ludogorets' previous loss came at the hands of Hungarian heavyweights Ferencvaros, as they slipped out of Champions League qualifying at the penultimate hurdle.

Aiming to make amends by reaching the league phase of Europe's second-tier tournament for an eighth time, Rui Mota's men now need a home win to at least force extra time on Thursday.

With an 18-game unbeaten streak in Razgrad behind them, the hosts will still expect to prevail.

While Ludogorets had their league fixture postponed, Shkendija were in action at the weekend, drawing 0-0 at home to Arsimi.

The North Macedonian champions are also undefeated in domestic football this term, with seven points from a possible nine so far, but their main ambition lies in Europe.

Having failed to progress past the playoffs of any UEFA competition to date, Shkendija are now within touching distance of mixing with clubs such as Real Betis, Aston Villa and Roma in the Europa League.

The Tetovo-based team kicked off their 2025-26 campaign in the early stages of Champions League qualifying, edging out The New Saints before felling Romanian giants FCSB. However, a subsequent 6-1 aggregate defeat to Qarabag ended their run.

Still, Jeton Beqiri's side will write a fresh page in club history, as even if they surrender their first-leg lead this week, a consolation place in the Conference League awaits.

Ludogorets Razgrad Europa League form: L

Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions): W D W L D L

Shkendija Europa League form: W

Shkendija form (all competitions): L W L W W D

Team News

Ludogorets are likely to start with a front three featuring Erick Marcus and Yves Erick Bille for the second leg, while Mounir Chouiar and Caio Vidal fight it out for the final place up front.

Midfielder Ivaylo Chochev has made a fine start to 2025-26, registering three goals from five games in the Bulgarian top flight.

Making his 78th European appearance, captain Anton Nedyalkov will line up at left-back, with Rui Mota set to name a familiar starting XI.

Meanwhile, Jeton Beqiri made several changes at the weekend, but he will now recall Shkendija's main stars.

Liridon Latifi and captain Besart Ibraimi both scored in the first leg, and they should again feature in the final third.

Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup: Padt; Son, Almeida, Kurtulus, Nedyalkov; Pedrinho, Duarte, Chochev; Marcus, Bille, Caio

Shkendija possible starting lineup: Gaye; Trumci, Fetai, Cake, Webster; Ramadani, Alhassan; Krasniqi, Zejnullai, Tamba; Ibraimi

We say: Ludogorets Razgrad 3-1 Shkendija (Ludogorets win 4-3 on aggregate)

With lots of European experience behind them - and a proud home record to defend - Ludogorets can recover from last week's setback and prevail in their playoff.

Despite defeat, Shkendija will take a merited place in the Conference League, following some fine results around Europe this summer.

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