Real Betis will travel to Bulgaria this Thursday to take on Ludogorets Razgrad in the fifth round of the 2022/23 Europa League season.
Venue: Huvepharma Arena (Razgrad)
Key Statistics
Ludogorets are unbeaten in their last five games (W4, D1).
They have lost each of their last seven encounters against Spanish sides.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last seven home games in all competitions (W6, D1).
Real Betis have failed to score in their last two away games.
They are unbeaten in their last five UEL games (W3, D2).
Betis have trailed at half-time in just one of their last 14 away matches (HT: W2, D11).
Head to head
Real Betis won the first leg, which was also the first meeting between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Ludogorets: W-W-W-W-D
Real Betis: L-D-W-D-D
Ludogorets Razgrad
Ludogorets will hope to make it five wins in five games when they welcome Real Betis to Huvepharma Arena this Thursday.
The hosts have been in decent form recently, winning each of their last four games, including a 2-0 win over HJK at home.
So they come into this tie sitting second in Group C, three points behind Betis. Therefore, this tie is a potentially top-spot-defining clash. Should the eleven-time Bulgarian league title winners take home maximum points from this tie, they can put a foot in the round of 32 of the Europa League.
They can still contest for the top spot in Group C too, but they have a bad record against Spanish opposition after losing each of their last seven encounters. However, the Huvepharma Arena faithful will know this is as good a time as ever to break that curse with their two group wins this term coming on home soil. Yet never have Ludogorets claimed victory in all three home games in a UEL group stage before.
Possible Ludogorets starting line-up
Sergio Padt; Cicinho, Olivier Verdon, Aslak Witry, Anton Nedyalkov; Cauly, Jakub Piotrowski, Show, Bernhard Tekpetey, Kiril Despodov, Igor Thiago.
Injured: Dominik Yankov
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Real Betis
After an impressive start to the season, the wheels seem to be coming off for Manuel Pellegrini and his Real Betis side after another disappointing outing in the league over the weekend.
The visitors were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid away from home last weekend, putting their quest for a top-four finish in jeopardy.
But in the Europa League, they are in good shape and come into this round of games unbeaten in five UEL games (W3, D2). They currently sit top of their group and have already been guaranteed passage into the next round of the Europa League.
However, a win here would see them win three successive European away games for the very first time in their history and also guarantee that they finish top of the group so they go straight into the last-16 as opposed to the last-32.
A draw would be enough to secure first place, given Betis’ superior H2H record. They can perhaps garner some confidence from having already beaten Ludogorets 3-2 in the reverse fixture, with that serving as their only ever game against Bulgarian opposition.
Possible Real Betis starting line-up
Rui Silva; Martin Montoya, Victor Ruiz Torre, German Pezzella, Alex Moreno; Guido Rodriguez, Sergio Canales; William Carvalho, Rodrigo Sanchez, Luiz Henrique; Borja Iglesias.
Injured: Juanmi Jimenez
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Andres Guardado
Odds
| Ludogorets to win | Draw | Real Betis to win | |
| Odds | 3.20 | 3.50 | 2.20 |
| Probability (%) | 30 | 27 | 43 |
Prediction
Ludogorets 2-0 Real Betis
