Athletic Bilbao travels to Bulgaria on Thursday for the Europa League match against the Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad.

The hosts languish inside 33rd place in the rankingswhile the Basque team is currently in eighth place.

Match example

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Ludogorets have made a disappointing start to the first phase of the Europa League, having taken just one point from their opening three games.

The Bulgarian club started the main tournament with a 2-0 home defeat to Slavia Prague, before playing out a goalless match against Viktoria Plzen on matchday two in their trip to the Czech Republic.

Unfortunately for Ludogorets, they were unable to take anything away from their most recent European away match. They conceded two goals in the second half, falling to a 2–0 defeat to Belgian side Anderlecht.

As it stands, Ludogorets are two points behind the top 24 teams and are one of two clubs yet to score in the Europa League main draw this season.

Although they are still looking for their first win in the league stage, the Eagles have had no such problems in the Bulgarian top flight. They won eleven of their twelve matches to build a nine-point lead at the top of the table.

Ludogorets are preparing for a fourth straight home game in all competitions, and after winning their last three matches 12-0, they will be hoping home advantage can lead them to a precious win.

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In contrast to their hosts, Athletic have made a promising start to their Europa League campaign, having won two and drawn one of their three matches.

Aitor Paredes scored a late equalizer to keep Roma to a 1-1 draw at Stadio Olimpico, before two second-half goals proved enough to condemn AZ Alkmaar to a 2-0 defeat

After beating AZ in San Mames, Los Leones enjoyed another successful home performance on matchday three Nico Williams scored the decisive goal in a 1–0 win over Slavia Prague.

After an undefeated start to their European campaign, Ernesto ValverdeThe Manchester City side currently occupy one of their eight qualifying places for the last 16, although they are just inside the top eight on goal difference.

Athletic will be somewhat frustrated by the fact that they go into Thursday’s match after back-to-back league matches against Mallorca and Real Betis, leaving them with just one win from their previous five La Liga games.

The goalless draw against Mallorca extended Athletic’s winless away run to three games in all competitions, leaving them still in search of their first away win since beating Leganes 2-0 on September 19.

Ludogorets Razgrad Europa League form:

Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions):

Athletic Bilbao Europa League format:

Form of Athletic Bilbao (all competitions):

Team news

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Ludogorets cannot rely on the injured trio Anton Nedyalkov, Jakub Piotrowski And Bernard Tekpetey.

Caio Vidal is suspended after his red card on matchday three Pedro Naressi will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Brazilian striker Erik Marcus is about to start a third straight game after scoring three goals in the last two games.

As for the visitors, they are expected to go without the services of Unai Simon, Mikel Jauregizar And Gorka Guruzeta.

Oihan Sancet will need to be assessed by Athletic’s medical staff after suffering an ankle injury during Sunday’s draw against Betis.

Alex Berenguer could be rewarded with a starting spot after coming off the bench to score Athletic’s equalizer this weekend.

Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:
Padt; Witry, Verdon, Almeida, Son; Marcus, Camara, Chochev, Duarte, Rick; Dua

Possible starting line-up of Athletic Bilbao:
Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche; Ruiz de Galarreta, Prados; I. Williams, Berenguer, N. Williams; Djalo

We say: Ludogorets Razgrad 1-1 Athletic Bilbao

Athletic may be unbeaten in four competitive matches, but they have failed to do so in any of their last three away games, and with that in mind we think the Basque side will have to settle for a point from Thursday’s trip to Bulgaria.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, click here.

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