Ludogorets – Crusaders Prediction & Picks (11.07.2018)

In the Champions League preliminaries on Wednesday, starting at 18:00, the Ludogorets – Crusaders game will be played. The confrontation will take place on “Ludogorets Arena” in Razgrad.

The host team managed to overtake the Bulgarian Supercup last week after finishing 1-0 with Slavia Sofia. The only goal of the match was Claudiu Keseru in the 31st minute.

The 31-year-old striker has reached nearly 80 goals scored in 119 games in which he has played for Ludogorets, who has passed his 12th trophy in record. Although the European Cups debuted just six years ago, the Bulgarian band managed to make a name in Europe. In the Champions League he reached twice in the group stage, while in the Europa League he reached the optimum stage in 2014, being eliminated by Valencia. Last year was eliminated in 16-titles by AC Milan. Moreover, on the ground he managed to defeat teams such as PSV, Basel or Hoffenheim.

Ludogorets starts the campaign under the command of a new coach. Although he won the title, Dimitar Dimitrov did not continue on the technical bench, his place being taken by the Brazilian Paulo Autuori. The 61-year-old technician has spent several trophies alongside teams such as Botafogo, Cruzeiro, Sao Paulo, etc.

On the other side, there’s not much to say about Crusaders. Although internally conquered three of the last four championships, in European Cups the results delayed to appear. Northern Ireland has only won two wins in the last 19 matches played in Europe. Moreover, in the last 19 defeats in the European Cups, they scored no less than 12 defeats without scored goals. Thus, we can say that a limitation of the proportions of the score is the only achievable objective for the guests.

This will be the first direct confrontation between the two bands.