Preview: Young Boys vs Ludogorets Razgrad - prediction, team news, lineups

Young Boys and Ludogorets Razgrad return to action in the Europa League when they go head to head at the Wankdorf Stadium in matchday three on Thursday.

Both teams renew acquaintances for the first time since their mid-season friendly clash back in January, with the Eagles securing a 1-0 victory courtesy of a 90th-minute strike from Brazilian midfielder Caio Vidal.

Match preview

Young Boys were condemned to their first home defeat in the Swiss Super League in well over a year on Sunday when they were beaten 2-1 by St. Gallen when both teams met at the Wankdorf Stadium.

The hosts were made to rue their wasteful display in front of goal as Tom Gaal and Lukas Gortler hit the target for St. Gallen to end their dominant home run stretching back to September 2024, when they fell to a 1-0 loss against Grasshopper Zurich.

Prior to that, Young Boys saw their run of three back-to-back Super League victories come to an end on October 5, when they were thrashed 5-0 by Lausanne-Sport at the Stade de la Tuiliere.

Giorgio Contini’s men, who currently sit fifth in the league table, now turn their focus to the Europa League, where they secured a 4-2 aggregate victory over Slovan Bratislava in the playoffs back in August and have picked up three points from their opening two group-stage matches.

Young Boys kicked off their Europa League journey with a 4-1 defeat against Panathinaikos on September 25, one week before bouncing back in a 2-0 victory over FCSB in Bucharest’s National Arena.

Having overturned a first-leg deficit to secure a 5-3 aggregate victory over Shkendija in the playoffs, Ludogorets Razgrad kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 2-1 win over Malmo in Sweden on September 24.

However, Rui Mota’s men were sent crashing back to earth one week later when they fell to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Spanish outfit Real Betis courtesy of a 31st-minute strike from Giovani Lo Celso and a second-half goal from Spanish defender Son.

Ludogorets head into Thursday’s tie fresh off the back of a 1-1 draw with Spartak Varna in the Bulgarian Parva Liga on Saturday, when Petar Stanic netted in the 50th minute to cancel out Xandy’s first-half opener.

With the result against Varna, the Eagles remain the only side yet to suffer defeat in the Parva Liga this season, claiming six wins and five draws from their 11 games so far to sit third in the table, six points adrift of first-placed Levski Sofia.

While Ludogorets will look to take the positives from the draw at the weekend and return to winning ways at the Wankdorf Stadium, results on the road leave little room for optimism as they have failed to win five of their six away matches since August 12 (2L, 3D).

Young Boys Europa League form:

Young Boys form (all competitions):

Ludogorets Razgrad Europa League form:

Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions):

Team News

Young Boys remain without the services of Alvyn Sanches and 20-year-old forward Facinet Conte, who continue their lengthy spells on the sidelines through ACL injuries.

Swiss defender Mats Seiler has been out of action since October 2024 through a severe injury while Rhodri Smith has been ruled out since picking up an injury in pre-season back in July.

Fellow defender Gregory Wuthrich has missed each of the last 10 games since sustaining a muscle injury against Sion on August 10 and the 30-year-old is also out of contention for the hosts.

Ludogorets have their fair share of injury concerns, as the attacking duo of Aguibou Camara and Swiss striker Kwadwo Duah will play no part in Thursday’s tie due to injuries.

Swedish defender Edvin Kurtulus is set to sit out his third consecutive game while 33-year-old Georgi Terziev has been sidelined through a cruciate ligament injury.

Young Boys possible starting lineup:

Keller; Janko, Lauper, Benito, Hadjam; Males, Raveloson, Fernandes, Monteiro; Bedia, Gigovic

Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:

Padt; Son, Verdon, Almeida, Nedyalkov; Naressi, Kaloc, Stanic; Marcus, Bile, Vidal

We say: Young Boys 2-1 Ludogorets Razgrad

Young Boys and Ludogorets have kicked off the Europa League on a decent note and will be looking to secure their second win of the campaign as they eye a place in the knockout stages.

Despite their recent slump, the Swiss outfit are favourites on paper, and given Ludogorets’ struggles on the road, we are backing them to come away with all three points in front of their home supporters.

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