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Steffen Schmidt - July 24, 2023
Ludogorets vs Olimpija Ljubljana
UEFA Champions League Qualification
Date: 26 July 2023, Wednesday
Kick-off at 19:45 UK / 20:45 CET
Venue: Huvepharma Arena (Razgrad).
Ludogorets showed character by beating Kosovo’s champions Ballkani 4-0 in the reverse leg of their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie to book the second round meeting with Slovenian champions Olimpija Ljubljana.
The new season could not have started worse for Ivaylo Petev and his troops who have suffered back-to-back painful losses before bouncing back in a phenomenal fashion.
Ludogorets fell 2-0 at Ballkani in the first leg and 3-1 at Krumovgrad in the opening round of the new season in the top flight of Bulgarian football.
Nonetheless, they will come into this tie with the Slovenians encouraged by a 4-0 win over Ballkani and a 5-0 victory over Etar VT.
Ludogorets are now big favorites to see off Olimpija Ljubljana on Wednesday evening in the first leg at Huvepharma Arena in Razgrad.
The Slovenians have struggled a lot to break down Latvian champions Valmiera in the opening round but they eventually advanced via two separate 2-1 wins.
The season, however, started poorly for Joao Henriques’ men who suffered a 2-1 defeat to Koper in the first round of the Slovenian elite class at the weekend.
Olimpija have generally struggled for European success for years. They have failed to make it past the second qualifying round of either Champions League or Europa League in the last five attempts.
The negative run includes the failures against the likes of Zrinjski Mostar, Santa Clara, and Sepsi.
Ludogorets have boosted their confidence just in time for this clash. Two straight wins with a goal difference of 9-0 will certainly help Ivaylo Petev’s men gain big advantage after the first leg on home soil.
We also have to mention massive failures for Slovenian clubs in Conference League this summer which makes us argue about the quality of football in their country at the moment. This is why we will take Ludogorets to have the lead at the half time and win the game at the end as the main pick at the odds of 2.37.
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