Do the Ludos make it all clear in the first leg?
It is the lot of a smaller football country that nowadays even the reigning national champion cannot be sure of entering the group stage of an international competition. But if one club can be trusted to successfully make the long journey through the qualifiers, it is the Bulgarian title holders Ludogorez Rasgrad, as recent years have shown.
Multiple times, the Bulgarians have even managed to compete in the top flight. That will also be the goal this year. After beating the Montenegrins from Sutjeska Niksic in the first qualifying round, Shamrock Rovers from Ireland now await. The Irish got the better of Malta’s Hibernians in the first round.
Although it is the Champions Path, not many of the clubs playing there are household names. The betting sites we tested expect the Bulgarian champions to come out on top in this encounter by a relatively wide margin, and we too are predicting ahead of the first leg between Ludogorez Rasgrad and Shamrock Rovers that the Bulgarians will progress to the next round.
It is even conceivable that there will already be a preliminary decision in this first leg at the Huvepharma Arena. Everything that has to do with a win for the home side on Tuesday sounds plausible. That the Irish will turn it up, however, doesn’t sound very likely and that’s why we strongly lean towards placing a bet on a home win between Ludogorez Rasgrad and Shamrock Rovers.
Ludogorez Rasgrad – Statistics & current form
In the early 2010s, Ludogorez Rasgrad rose like Phoenix from the ashes to the top of Bulgarian club football. The Ludos have now won eleven championships in a row and dominate the national league almost at will. They have twice reached the group stage of the top flight and are regulars in the Europa League at least.
Ludos without conceding a goal this season
This is why you have to keep the serial champions from Bulgaria in mind this year. The season in the Efbet League has already begun and it has already become clear that the team of Slovenian coach Ante Simundza will be a force to be reckoned with this season as well. Four competitive games have been played this season and the Ludos have won all four games without conceding a goal.
They are top of the Bulgarian league with 5:0 goals and six points and also in the qualification for the premier class they had a 2:0 and a 1:0 against Sutjeska Niksic. Needless to say, that sounds like something we need to take a close look at the hosts’ chances of a no-win in the encounter between Ludogorez Rasgrad and Shamrock Rovers.
Last Friday saw a 2-0 win over Lokomotive Plovdiv after goals from Bernard Tekpetey and Cauly. However, coach Ante Simundza is expected to make some changes to the starting eleven. Cauly, Pieros Sotiriou and Spas Delev are all expected to be in the starting eleven. Anton Nedyalkov and Zan Karnicnik are also expected to play from the start again.
Predicted line-up of Ludogorez Razgrad:
Sluga – Karnicnik, Verdon, Plastun, Nedyalkov – Santana, Show, Delev, Cauly, Despodov – Sotiriou – Coach: Simundza
Last matches played by Ludogorez Razgrad:
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
Champions League Qualifier
06/07/2022 – PFK Ludogorez Razgrad 2 – 0 Sutjeska
First Professional League Championship Playoff
23/05/2022 – PFK Levski Sofia 0 – 1 PFK Ludogorez Razgrad
Shamrock Rovers – Statistics & current form
Whoever is anyone in Ireland in terms of footballing prowess doesn’t stay at home for long. Probably even League One, i.e. the third division in England, is more attractive from a sporting and financial point of view than playing in the Irish Premier League and so the level in the national league will hardly skyrocket in the coming years and participation in the Champions League will probably remain an unrealisable goal for the national champions.
Good series for Shamrock Rovers
Never-the-less, of course, Shamrock Rovers’ first goal is always to capture the Irish Championship and make another run towards the top flight. If it doesn’t work out this year, then maybe next year, because at the moment it looks as if the Hoops could defend their national title this season as well.
In the Premier League, Stephen Bradley’s team is clearly at the top of the table after 23 match days. At the moment, they are nine points ahead of Dundalk FC. They can concentrate fully on their European Cup tasks and yet there is not much to be said for predicting a successful match for the Irish in Bulgaria between Ludogorez Rasgrad and Shamrock Rovers. However, the Irish champions are unbeaten in six competitive matches.
It looks as though coach Stephen Bradley will have to do without Neil Farrugia and Jack Byrne on Tuesday. Both continue to complain of muscular problems. Otherwise, all players should be on board. It is possible that the Hoops will play with the same formation as last week in Malta. Rovers did not play a match in the league at the weekend.
Predicted line-up of Shamrock Rovers:
Mannus – Lopes, Grace, Hoare – Finn, McCann, O’Neill, Lyons – Watts – Greene, Gaffney – coach: Bradley
Last matches played by Shamrock Rovers:
Champions League Qualifier
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
28/06/2022 – St. Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 2 Shamrock Rovers
25/06/2022 – Shamrock Rovers 1 – 0 Bohemian FC
Ludogorez Razgrad – Shamrock Rovers Direct comparison / H2H record
Ludogorez Rasgrad has been a household name in international football for just over ten years. So you can’t speak of a long tradition there. Although the Bulgarians have made more appearances on the international stage, the Ludos have not played against Shamrock Rovers or any Irish club for that matter.
Rovers also had to leaf through their history books for a long time before they came across any duels against Bulgarian teams. There were two matches against Botev Plovdiv in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1962/63 season. The Irish lost both duels. After 60 years that have passed in the meantime, however, you certainly can’t derive any lessons from that for Tuesday’s match.
Ludogorez Razgrad – Shamrock Rovers Tip
There are very clear gaps between the ambitions of the two rivals alone. Ludogorez Rasgrad have made a better name for themselves internationally in the last decade than Shamrock Rovers have in their club history. Irish club football is basically uncompetitive against big-name clubs in the European Cup.
The Bulgarians have made a strong start to the season, winning four games to nil, and will be looking to continue that run against the Irish champions. After all, Rovers have not lost for six games
In their own stadium, we might have given the Irish another chance to get a good result. That is unlikely to be the case after the trip to Bulgaria. The home side are the clear favourites and because they have yet to concede a goal this season, we have decided to play the betting odds on a win to nil for the Bulgarians between Ludogorez Rasgrad and Shamrock Rovers.
