Ludogorets – Roma

Roma have a good chance of success against Ludogorets

Ludogorets won the Bulgarian championship for the 11th time in their history last season. The holder of such an honourable title, however, has to start their European Cup journey only from the 1/8 finals of the Champions League qualification. "The Eagles beat Sutjeska quite easily, a smashing home win allowed them to overcome Shemrok, but they failed to do so against Dinamo Zagreb. Šimundža's side lost both games against their stronger rivals, 3-6 on aggregate. In the Europa League qualifiers, the Bulgarians faced Lithuanian side Zalgiris. It was a difficult game for the Eagles against a lesser-known rival. The contest went to extra-time in the second game, with Ludogorets scoring the winning goal in the 120th (!) minute. The team faced four opponents on their way to the group stage. Naturally, they were on a very tight schedule the whole time. But even after the Lithuanians' elimination, the Eagles have been playing at a "match in three days" pace. The thing is that on the first of September, the team played in the Bulgaria Super Cup, where they won in a penalty shoot-out. Then (on the fourth) there was the championship match against Hebar. Despite the solid win, such a tight game at the start of the championship cannot but affect the physical conditions. Roma, as last year's Conference League triumphant, were not forced to play qualifiers. Instead, the team were quite successful (until the last round) in honing their skills in the domestic competition. Last weekend, the Romans unexpectedly lost 4-0 to Udinese. Does that tell you that the Giallorossi had their minds set on European competitions? After all, Mourinho's men had a decent start to the campaign. The Romans have won three games and shared points with Juventus. The team look very confident, and Dybala (as shown in the match against Monza) is gradually gaining in form. Belotti's full debut is just around the corner and he also has something to prove. After the league defeat, Seu Joje said he would rather lose one match 4-0 than four 1-0. "Wolves need to rehabilitate themselves for that gaffe. A match against an obviously weaker opponent is the perfect opportunity to do so. The Romans will start the group stage with an away win.