Will the Ludos also convince in Dublin?
It’s a long and steep road to the Champions League group stage when you enter the qualifiers as champions of a smaller European football country. For many of football’s midgets, competing in the top flight against Real Madrid, Manchester City or Bayern Munich will probably remain a dream forever. It’s no different for Irish champions Shamrock Rovers.
By human standards, Rovers will have to bury their Champions League dream on Tuesday, when the second leg of their second qualifying round tie against Bulgarian title holders Ludogorez Razgrad takes place at Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium. The Bulgarians won the first leg 3-0 at home. It should no longer be exciting in terms of advancing.
In the second leg, however, the tested betting providers expect a close match. According to the quotes, the guests from Bulgaria are only slightly favoured. That is why many bookmakers are finding it difficult to give a clear prediction on the winner of the second leg in the match between Shamrock Rovers and Ludogorez Rasgrad.
From our point of view, however, the Bulgarian champions should have the better chance of winning in Dublin as well and will then have to face the winner of the pairing Dinamo Zagreb vs Shkupi in the third qualifying round. The two losers of the aforementioned duels, will then face each other in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. We have no doubt that the Ludos will continue to dream of the top flight, as we also tend to bet on a success for the visitors between Shamrock Rovers and Ludogorez Rasgrad on Tuesday.
Shamrock Rovers – Statistics & current form
It has been twelve years since Shamrock Rovers reached the group stage of an international competition for the first time and, to date, the only time. Maybe it will happen again today. The chances are not bad at all, even if the top flight will probably have to be written off this Tuesday, although the goal before the start of the qualifiers was the Europa League anyway.
Shamrock hopes for miracle
However, coach Stephen Bradley has not quite ticked off the duel with the Bulgarian champions yet. Even if the rucksack from the first leg weighs heavily, the Irish still believe in their chance to achieve the miracle. We would rather not go along with that and would not even play the odds on an easy home win in the duel Shamrock Rovers vs Ludogorez Rasgrad.
In the Irish Premier League, the Hoops are still pretty clearly on top. After 24 matchdays, Stephen Bradley’s team has 52 points on their account and thus has a cushion of seven points on the worst chaser Dundalk. Last weekend, however, Shamrock once again had to accept a loss of points.
At home against Drogheda United they only managed a 1-1 draw. This means that Rovers have now been without a win for three games. Aidomo Emakhu put his side in front ten minutes from time, but Drogheda equalised. With the exception of Jack Byrne, whose recovery continues to drag on, Stephen Bradley looks set to have all his players available on Tuesday.
Predicted line-up of Shamrock Rovers:
Mannus – Lopes, Kavanagh, Gannon, Lyons – O’Neill, Towell, Watts – Farrugia, Burke, Greene – Coach: Bradley
Last matches played by Shamrock Rovers:
Premier Division
23/07/2022 – Shamrock Rovers 1 – 1 Drogheda United
Champions League Qualifier
20/07/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Razgrad 3 – 0 Shamrock Rovers
13/07/2022 – Hibernians 0 – 0 Shamrock Rovers
06/07/2022 – Shamrock Rovers 3 – 0 Hibernians
Premier Division
02/07/2022 – Finn Harps 0 – 1 Shamrock Rovers
Ludogorez Rasgrad – Statistics & current form
Ludogorez Rasgrad may not be a club with a particularly long tradition, but the newcomer has established itself as a leader in the Bulgarian league and also plays regularly in the European group stages, predominantly in the Europa League, but the Ludos have also already left their calling card in the top flight.
Still undefeated this season
It’s easy to see that it would be a sensation if the Bulgarians were to lose to the Irish. After the 3:0 in the first leg, it would even be a miracle. We rather expect that the international experience of the Bulgarians will also show in the second leg and therefore we rather assume that you are probably right with a prediction on another Bulgarian victory in the duel Shamrock Rovers against Ludogorez Rasgrad.
The Ludos have had a strong start to the season and have not lost in their first six competitive matches of the new season, although they have picked up five wins. As a result, Ante Simundza’s team are top of the Efbet League with seven points from three games. The first loss of points came last weekend in Sofia, where they only managed a 2-2 draw against ZSKA.
The goal scorers for the Bulgarians were Cauly and Bernard Tekpetey, two former Bundesliga players. In terms of personnel, things are looking very good for the Bulgarian champions these days. It seems that the Portuguese Claude Goncalves will be the only player who is not available due to injury. After the big win in the first leg, we can expect a bigger rotation for the Ludos.
Predicted line-up of Ludogorez Rasgrad:
Sluga – Nedyalkov, Plastun, Verdon, Cicinho – Santana, Yordanov – Tekpetey, Cauly, Delev – Tissera – Coach: Simundza
Last matches played by Ludogorez Rasgrad:
First Professional League
23/07/2022 – CSKA 1948 2 – 2 PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad
Champions League Qualifier
20/07/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Razgrad 3 – 0 Shamrock Rovers
First Professional League
16/07/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Razgrad 2 – 0 PFK Lokomotive Plovdiv
Champions League Qualifier
13/07/2022 – Sutjeska 0 – 1 PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad
First Professional League
09/07/2022 – Septemvri Sofia 0 – 3 PFK Ludogorez Rasgrad
Shamrock Rovers – Ludogorez Rasgrad Direct comparison / H2H record
The first leg in Rasgrad last week was the first head-to-head clash between Shamrock Rovers and Ludogorez. We don’t have to talk about a direct comparison for long at this point. The Bulgarians won the first leg clearly with 3:0. Pieros Sotiriou provided the 2:0 lead for the hosts with a double strike after about half an hour.
Up to that point, the Irish still thought they had a chance in the second leg, but Tiago scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to give the Bulgarians a 3-0 lead, and that should have been the end of the matter as far as progress was concerned.
Shamrock Rovers – Ludogorez Rasgrad Tip
In general, the champions from Ireland and Bulgaria play in a different league in terms of quality. The Bulgarians have great international experience and regularly reach the group stage of the European Cup.
That’s why we see the Ludos as the favourites on Tuesday in Dublin. We can well imagine that the Bulgarian champions will enter the third qualifying round with a commanding victory and therefore our personal tendency goes very clearly in the direction of placing a tip on a guest victory between Shamrock Rovers and Ludogorez Rasgrad.
We even think that it could now be clear in the second leg. The 3:0 in the first leg actually reflects the differences between the two teams. From that point of view, the Hoops should have no chance of advancing, on the contrary. We have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-1.5) for the visitors in this second leg between Shamrock Rovers and Ludogorez Rasgrad.
