Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs Ludogorets

Stadion na Banovom brdu is the venue as Shakhtyor Soligorsk hope to make up for a 1-0 first-leg loss and overcome Ludogorets in the second leg of their Champions League qualifying tie.

The hosts have endured a slight dip in form ahead of this clash, going from six consecutive competitive triumphs to back-to-back games without winning (D1, L1). Low scoring has been a theme in Soligorsk’s recent competitive fixtures as five of their last six matches have featured under 2.5 total goals (W4, D1, L1), with three of the five games won/lost in that sequence coming by the identical 1-0 scoreline. Before being held to a 1-1 draw to Dinamo Brest in their most recent home outing, the Belarusian heavyweights had been on a resounding eight-match winning streak on home turf, notably registering six shutouts in that period. Going back to April 2021, five of Shakhtyor’s nine competitive home games have seen them beat their opposition by a margin of 2+ goals, highlighting the potential for a comeback.

As for Ludogorets, they responded to an underwhelming warm-up campaign (W2, D1, L1) with a solid first-leg performance, producing 20 attempts towards Shakthyor’s goal. Curiously, since playing out a 1-1 away draw with CSKA Sofia in the Bulgarian Cup back in early April, none of Ludogorets’ subsequent 11 games in all competitions have ended level (W7, L4), with six of those results (win/loss) featuring a full-time margin of 2+ goals. However, a poor away form could be a reason for concern within the traveling camp, with the ‘Eagles’ losing their last two competitive road trips by over 2.5 goals ‘to one’ after trailing at half-time. On the bright side, the Bulgarians have found the net in all 12 competitive away games since losing 4-0 to Tottenham in the 2020/21 Europa League group stage in November 2020.