Ludogorets vs Qarabag

Ludogorets will be desperate to protect their 2-1 aggregate lead over Qarabag when the two teams meet at the Huvepharma Arena in the return leg of their Champions League qualifying tie.

Caio Vidal’s 87th-minute winner inspired Ludogorets to an all-important 2-1 first-leg win in Azerbaijan, bringing the Razgrad outfit closer to their first foray into the Champions League main draw since 2016/17. It was a potentially crucial goal for Ludogorets, considering they had lost on the road in both previous qualifying ties this season. By contrast, the Eagles boast a 100% win ratio on home soil in the 2024/25 Champions League qualifiers on home turf (W2), while they’ve also won both domestic fixtures at this venue this season by a combined score of 6-1. However, Georgi Dermendziev’s men cannot afford to take this tie lightly after failing to make it out of the third Champions League qualifying round in six of the last seven seasons.

Meanwhile, visiting Qarabag restored confidence after a late first-leg heartache, comfortably dispatching domestic rivals Kapaz 3-0 at the weekend to make it two straight victories at the start of their title defense in the Azerbaijani Premier League. The Horsemen need another free-scoring performance to progress from this tie, and it’s hard to put it past them to deliver one after netting 3+ goals in three of their last four outings. As if that’s not comforting enough, Gurban Gurbanov’s free-flowing attack has been on a tear away from home, bagging multiple goals on 14 of their last 16 competitive road trips (W12, D1, L3). That run includes their two most recent European travels, with Qarabag beating Braga 4-2 and losing to Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in the Europa League earlier this calendar year.