Ludogorets invites Shakhtyor to Ludogorets Arena for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday.
This will be the first stage of the first round of the qualifiers for the last six places in the elite continental competition.
Ludogorets and Shakhtyor are respectively the champions of the championships of Bulgaria and Belarus. While the hosts only played friendlies in June, the visiting team have played 14 games in the current Belarusian Premier League season.
The hosts are hoping for their return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign. Meanwhile, Shakhtyor has yet to qualify for the Champions League final.
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Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor Head to Head
This will be the very first meeting between the two Eastern European clubs.
Ludogorets fitness guide: N / A (first game of the season)
Shakhtyor Form Guide (Belarusian Premier League): DWWWW
Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor team news
Ludogorets
There are no known injury issues for the Bulgarian team at the moment. Head coach Valdas Dambrauskas will be deprived of the services of Brazilian midfielder Alex Santana. He was suspended for the first leg.
New recruit Shaquille Pinas is in the running to start here.
Injuries: Nothing
Doubtful: Nothing
Suspension: Alex Santana
Shakhtyor
There are no known injury or suspension issues for the visiting team. They are expected to field the same starting XI they have used in the last few league games.
Injuries: Nothing
Doubtful: Nothing
Suspension: Nothing
Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor Predicts XI
Ludogorets Predicted XI (4-4-2): Plamen Iliev; Jordan Ikoko, Georgi Terziev, Olivier Verdon, Anton Nedyalkov; Cauly, Claude Gonçalves, Stéphane Badji, Dominik Yankov; Elvis Manu, Claudiu Keseru
Shakhtyor Predicts XI (4-4-2): Alyaksandr Hutar; Roman Begunov, Egor Filipenko, Nikola Antić, Igor Ivanovic; Yury Kendysh, Ihar Stasevich, Valon Ahmedi, Syarhey Palitsevich; Dembo Darboe, Roman Debelko
Prediction Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor
Ludogorets warmed up with two wins in four friendlies in June, while Shakhtyor is undefeated in his last seven games in all competitions.
Of the two clubs Ludogorets have a slightly better squad at the moment and given their home advantage they should be able to register a win in this meeting.
Prediction: Ludogorets 2-1 Shakhtyor
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