Plzeň v Ludogorets background
Friday, August 19, 2016
Article summary
Viktoria Plzeň have won both of their previous UEFA Champions League play-offs, but they have some catching up to do after losing 2-0 to Ludogorets Razgrad in the first leg.
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Article body
Ludogorets Razgrad are on course for a second group stage campaign in three seasons, although Viktoria Plzeň will do all they can to preserve their perfect record in UEFA Champions League play-offs.
Previous meetings
• A penalty from Cosmin Moţi, hero of Ludogorets' shoot-out triumph over Steaua Bucureşti at this stage of the 2014/15 competition, and Virgil Misidjan's smart finish sealed a 2-0 home victory for the Bulgarian outfit in the first leg on 17 August.
• Ludogorets also defeated Plzeň 2-1 in a friendly in Turkey in January. Marcelinho (28) and Lucas Sasha (52) scored for Ludogorets; Matěj Končal (56) replied for the Czech side.
• The first leg stretched Plzeň's run of UEFA matches without a victory to eight.
Match background
• Ludogorets eliminated Mladost Podgorića and then Crvena zvezda to reach the play-offs.
• This is Ludogorets' third play-off in this competition; they lost 6-2 on aggregate to Basel in 2013/14 but overcame Steaua 12 months later.
• Plzeň accounted for Qarabağ on away goals in the third qualifying round.
• Plzeň have a 100% record in UEFA Champions League play-offs, having beaten København (2011/12) and Maribor (2013/14) in their two previous ties.
Team and coach links
• Ludogorets forward Marcelinho needs one more goal to catch Roman Bezjak as the club's top UEFA scorer with seven. With 35 outings, he is already the Eagles' European appearance record holder.
• Wanderson became the first Ludogorets player to score a UEFA hat-trick in the third qualifying round meeting with Crvena zvezda. He was the first player to register a European treble for a Bulgarian club since fellow Brazilian Joãozinho hit three against Želježničar for Litex Lovech in the UEFA Cup in August 2004.
Coach profiles
• One-time defender Georgi Dermendzhiev steered Ludogorets into the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2014/15 in his first spell in charge, resigning in May 2015 before being rehired in November the same year. The former Spartak Plovdiv and Sliven coach has won two Bulgarian titles with Ludogorets.
• A defender for Dukla Praha and Sigma Olomouc, and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up with Rapid Wien in 1996, Roman Pivarník was coaching Bohemians Praha when he was brought in to replace the outgoing Karel Krejčí at Plzeň this summer.