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Ludogorets invite Shakhtyor to the Ludogorets Arena in UEFA Champions League qualifying action on Wednesday.
This will be the first leg of the first round of qualifiers for the final six spots in the elite continental competition.
Ludogorets and Shakhtyor are the current league champions of Bulgaria and Belarus respectively. While the hosts have only played friendly games in June, the visiting side have played 14 games in the ongoing Belarusian Premier league season.
The hosts will be hoping for their return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign. Meanwhile, Shakhtyor are yet to qualify for the Champions League finals.
Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor Head-to-Head
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two Eastern European clubs.
Ludogorets form guide: N/A (first game of the season)
Shakhtyor form guide (Belarusian Premier League): D-W-W-W-W
Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor Team News
Ludogorets
There are no known injury concerns for the Bulgarian side at the moment. Head coach Valdas Dambrauskas will be without the services of Brazilian midfielder Alex Santana. He has been suspended for the first-leg fixture.
New signing Shaquille Pinas is in contention to start here.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: Alex Santana
Shakhtyor
There are no known injury or suspension concerns for the visiting team. They are expected to field the same starting XI that they have used in recent league fixtures.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor Predicted XI
Ludogorets Predicted XI (4-4-2): Plamen Iliev; Jordan Ikoko, Georgi Terziev, Olivier Verdon, Anton Nedyalkov; Cauly, Claude Gonçalves, Stephane Badji, Dominik Yankov; Elvis Manu, Claudiu Keseru
Shakhtyor Predicted 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
Ludogorets vs Shakhtyor Prediction
Ludogorets have warmed up with two wins out of four friendly games in June, while Shakhtyor are unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions.
Out of the two clubs, Ludogorets have a slightly better squad at the moment and, given their home advantage, they should be able to record a win in this encounter.
Prediction: Ludogorets 2-1 Shakhtyor
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