Does Ludogorez Rasgrad fulfil their obligation?
The second legs are now on the agenda in the first round of the qualifying phase for the main round of the UEFA Champions League. For Ludogorez from Bulgaria, it is only a matter of fulfilling their duty after the first leg.
The visitors travel to Montenegro with a head start, and normally nothing should go wrong. Before the match between Sutjeska Niksic and Ludogorez Rasgrad, the odds show that the Bulgarians will go into the game as clear favourites.
The match will be played in Podgorica because the home stadium of the hosts does not meet UEFA requirements. The match kicks off on Tuesday evening at 9pm.
Sutjeska Niksic – Statistics & current form
Sutjeska Niksic come from the Montenegrin league and aimed to upset the favourites Ludogorez Rasgrad a little. But they failed to do so in the first leg in Bulgaria, where Sutjeska lost 0:2. The starting position is therefore extremely unfavourable, as the hosts now have to play forward and score goals against a team that is better individually.
On top of that, the team is not allowed to play in their small home stadium Gradski, but has to move to Podgorica. That is not exactly ideal either. Therefore, it comes as little surprise that before the match Sutjeska Niksic vs. Ludogorez Rasgrad, the odds of the best bookmakers point to a victory for the visitors.
Of course, this would not come as a complete surprise, because the Bulgarians, in contrast to Sutjeska, have gained a lot of experience in the main rounds of the European Cup, and the Bulgarian league is also superior to its counterpart from Montenegro. Coach Milija Savovic will therefore have to come up with something to somehow conceal the totality of the problems.
Risk assessment as the be-all and end-all
With Montenegro’s season not starting until the weekend, the first leg was the only competitive match for this team so far in the new season. So when it comes to statistics, you also have to rely on last season’s impressions and there the hosts failed to win any of their last four competitive matches. Nevertheless, Sutjeska Niksic became champions in Montenegro.
In the previous season, the team was always stable, conceded less than one goal per game on average and provided the best offensive in the Montenegrin league. At the time, Sutjeska Niksic also played in a European qualifying round, beating FC Gagra but then losing to Maccabi Tel Aviv. So there was little to be gained against bigger calibres. It doesn’t help that there are no big players in the league either and that the championship was won with a lead of almost ten points despite the poor record in the end.
In this game, it will be a question of weighing up the risks wisely. Running into an open knife would be anything but wise. At the same time, a certain amount of pressure must always be exerted offensively, which will be difficult. In combination with the individual superiority of the guests, our prediction before the match Sutjeska Niksic against Ludogorez Rasgrad is that the guests will win this match as well.
Predicted line-up of Sutjeska Niksic:
Giljen – Grivic, Djinovic, Drincic, Tucevic – Matanovic, Erakovic, Zocevic, Knezevic, Nenov – Conraad
Last matches played by Sutjeska Niksic:
Champions League Qualifier
06/07/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad 2 – 0 Sutjeska
1st League
25/05/2022 – Sutjeska 1 – 3 Mornar
21/05/2022 – Petrovac 1 – 1 Sutjeska
14/05/2022 – Buducnost Podgorica 4 – 2 Sutjeska
08/05/2022 – Sutjeska 1 – 2 Decic Tuzi
Ludogorez Rasgrad – Statistics & current form
The fact that Ludogorez Rasgrad have the better team compared to the hosts is already evident when looking at the squad. Not only do the Bulgarians stand out in terms of market values, there are also some well-known players in the line-up. Despodov and Nedyalkov, two leading players, are national players in Bulgaria, Cauly and Tekpetey are known from German football and with Sotiriou there is a really interesting and accurate striker in the squad.
The Bulgarians’ big goal is to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. But the Europa League would also be quite attractive. With a squad that has hardly changed in comparison to the previous season, the Bulgarians are relying on continuity and familiarity. Of course, something is still to happen, it’s just not urgent. In Bulgaria, the season started at the weekend, so Lugoroets are just getting into the rhythm. There was a 3-0 win in Sofia, so the first results of the new season are positive.
The Bulgarians don’t want to let anything slip
The visitors are favourites going into the match, and another win would naturally boost their confidence. With only two defeats in their last 15 matches and a record that was the best in Bulgaria last season, both defensively and offensively, Ludogorez Rasgrad should be well prepared for the tasks ahead.
In fact, they recently won seven matches in a row, even if that is always relatively difficult to judge on a season-long basis. In any case, the aim is to create a clear situation right from the start, and the first performances of the new season encourage us to believe that this will be achieved. Due to the big differences between the two teams and the good defence of the visitors, which has already proven itself this season, our value tip before the match between Sutjeska Niksic and Ludogorez Rasgrad is that not both teams will score.
Predicted line-up of Ludogorez Rasgrad:
Sluga – Cicinho, Terziev, Plastun, Nedyalkov – Goncalves, Santana, Cauly, Despodov, Tekpetey – Sotirou
Last matches played by Ludogorez Rasgrad:
First Professional League
09/07/2022 – Septemvri Sofia 0 – 3 PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad
Champions League Qualifier
06/07/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad 2 – 0 Sutjeska
First Professional League Championship Playoff
23/05/2022 – PFK Levski Sofia 0 – 1 PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad
14/05/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Razgrad 1 – 0 PFC Cherno More Varna
06/05/2022 – PFK Botev Plovdiv 1 – 2 PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad
Sutjeska Niksic – Ludogorez Rasgrad Direct comparison / H2H record
Sutjeska Niksic and Ludogorez Rasgrad faced each other for the first time in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League qualifying round tie. With their 2-0 win, the Bulgarians ensured that they lead the direct comparison as things stand.
Sutjeska Niksic – Ludogorez Rasgrad Tip
The distribution of roles before this match is therefore clear. Sutjeska Niksic will start the match as underdogs and will also have to make up for a deficit. That won’t be easy, especially as the visitors can first concentrate on compactness and counterattacks.
Totally, there is not much to suggest that the Montenegrins will pull off a big surprise here. Therefore, before the match between Sutjeska Niksic and Ludogorez Rasgrad, our tip is that the visitors will win the match.
