Petrocub will host Ludogorets at the Stadionul Zimbru on Thursday in the second leg of their 2024-25 UEFA Europa League playoff-round clash. The home side have performed well in their league assignments this season but now have a mountain to climb on the continental stage this week following a 4-0 defeat in their first-leg clash last Thursday.
They bounced back from that with a comfortable 2-0 win over Dacia in the Moldovan Super Liga at the weekend featuring second-half goals from Constantin Sandu and Marin Caruntu and will be looking to take confidence from that this week.
Ludogorets have also performed well in their domestic duties and are on the verge of securing a spot in the Europa League group stages. The Bulgarian side maximized their home advantage in the first leg last week as they picked up a 4-0 win featuring goals from three different players including center-back Dinis Almeida who netted a late brace.
The visitors will head to Moldova for competitive action for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign, where a draw will be more than enough to advance to the final tournament.
Petrocub vs Ludogorets Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday's game will mark just the second meeting between Petrocub and Ludogorets following their maiden matchup last week.
- The visitors have had three competitive meetings against Moldovan opposition, winning one of those games and losing the other two.
- Petrocub lost twice in the league last season, with both defeats coming on home turf.
- The Eagles have kept clean sheets in each of their last three matches after failing to register any in their four games prior.
Petrocub vs Ludogorets Prediction
Petrocub's latest result ended a run of back-to-back defeats and they will be looking to build on that this week. They are undefeated on home turf since last September and will be hopeful of a positive result here.
Ludogorets are on a three-game winning streak and have now won five of their last six games across all competitions. They are the stronger side ahead of Thursday's game and should come out on top here.
Prediction: Petrocub 0-2 Ludogorets
Petrocub vs Ludogorets Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Ludogorets to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Seven of the hosts' last nine matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of the visitors' last four matches)