Athletic Bilbao will travel to Bulgaria for Europa League clash against Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. The hosts are languishing down in 33rd place in the standings, while the Basque side are currently sitting in eighth position. Ludogorets have made a disappointing start to the inaugural Europa League league phase, having taken just one point from their opening three matches. Ludogorets kicked off the main draw with a 2-0 home defeat against Slavia Prague, before they played out a goalless affair with Viktoria Plzen in their trip to Czechia on matchday two.
Unfortunately for Ludogorets, they were unable to take anything from their most recent European away trip, conceding two second-half goals to fall to a 2-0 loss against Belgian side Anderlecht. As it stands, Ludogorets are sitting two points adrift of the top 24 teams and are one of two clubs yet to score in this season’s Europa League main draw.
While they are still searching for their first win of the league phase, the Eagles have had no such problems in the Bulgarian top flight, having won 11 of their 12 matches to establish a nine-point lead at the top of the table. Ludogorets are preparing for a fourth consecutive home game in all competitions, and after winning their last three by a combined 12-0 scoreline, they will hope that home advantage can spur them to a precious victory.
In contrast to their hosts, Athletic Bilbao 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 equaliser to hold 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 at San Mames, Los Leones enjoyed another successful home outing on matchday three when Nico Williams scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over Slavia Prague.
Having made an unbeaten start to their European campaign, Ernesto Valverde’s side currently occupy one of their eight qualification spots for the last 16, although they are sitting just inside the top eight on goal difference. Athletic Bilbao will be slightly frustrated with the fact that they will head into Thursday’s fixture off the back of consecutive league draws against Mallorca and Real Betis, leaving them with just one win from their previous five La Liga matches.
The goalless draw against Mallorca extended Athletic Bilbao winless away run to three matches in all competitions, ensuring that they are still searching for their first away win since beating Leganes 2-0 on September 19.
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