Ludogorets, the undisputed ruler of the Bulgarian league for 14 long years, is now accustomed to playing in the Champions League qualifying rounds, a competition that the Green-Whites have not played in since the 2016-17 edition, when they managed to reach the group stage. Since then, they have always fallen short of their goal, despite constantly featuring in the minor cups such as the Europa League and Conference League.
The team led by Portuguese coach Rui Mota is trying again this year: as in last season’s preliminary round, Ludogorets was drawn against Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk, whom they beat 2-0 in the first leg in Razgrad (a victory that made the 1-0 defeat in Belarus in the return leg painless).
In line with what happened in 2024, Kaloc and his teammates took advantage of home field advantage once again, but last Wednesday’s narrow 1-0 victory does not allow Ludogorets to rest easy ahead of the match in Minsk. Rui Mota’s men only broke the deadlock three minutes from time thanks to a goal from their captain, and they will have to keep their eyes open in Belarus, even though they know that a draw would see them through. Dinamo Minsk, meanwhile, has already played 15 league games: Vadim Skripchenko’s team is only fourth, 10 points behind the leaders, and before their trip to Bulgaria, they lost to the leaders, ML Vitebsk (2-0). Last weekend, they rested ahead of their European commitment.
Odds comparison
The “1X” result is priced at 2.00 on Goldbet, Lottomatica, and Snai. The “Multigol 1-3” result is priced at 1.35 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.40 on Snai.
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Prediction
Dinamo Minsk may be struggling in the league, but they have been almost flawless in front of their home crowd, with seven wins and one defeat in their home matches. It will not be easy for Ludogorets to defend their first-leg advantage: the Green-Whites are favorites to qualify, but it would not be a surprise if Dinamo managed to get a positive result, just like a year ago.
Probable line-ups for Dinamo Minsk-Ludogorets
DINAMO MINSK (4-4-2): Shpakovskiy; Pigas, Begunov, Gavrilovich, Ibrahim; Bakhar, Miakish, Kalinin, Malashevich; Bakic, Djimet.
LUDOGORETS (4-3-1-2): Padt; Son, Almeida, Kurtulus, Nedyalkov; Kaloc, Piotrowski, Nedelev; Tekpetey; Erick Marcus, Caio Vidal.