Macedonian side Shkendija have the chance to reach the main draw of a European competition for the first time. They will be hosting the first leg of their Europa League playoff against Ludogorets. Below is our prediction for the match.
Shkendija have already caused an upset in the qualifiers, beating FCSB in the Champions League qualifiers. Their journey there was, however, ended by Qarabag in a 6-1 aggregate defeat.
The hosts will hope to carry their giant-slaying antics as they feature in the playoffs for the first time. An area of strength for Shkendija is their attack, having scored in six of their eight games this season.
Ludogorets will carry into this game better experience at this level but not really impressive form. They are coming from two winless matches, one of them in Europe, where a 3-0 loss to Ferencvaros confirmed their Champions League elimination.
A 0-0 draw with Lokomotiv SF followed, meaning they’ve now failed to score in three of their last four matches. This run has dogged them in Europe too, with the Bulgarians failing to score in five of their last 10 continental matches.
Ludogorets played in the Europa League main draw phase last season but failed to win any of the eight games. They are winless in the last 10 matches in Europe.
