Ludogorets vs Arsenal on matchday 4 of the Champions League at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia on Tuesday will be all about damage control for the Bulgarians. Ludogorets was demolished by Arsenal at the Emirates on matchday 3, as the London based club scored six unanswered goals to win 6-0.
Arsenal’s German playmaker Mesut Özil recorded a famous hat-trick, and Alexis Sánchez, Theo Walcott, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also scored in what was a devastating result for Ludogorets.
The result means that Ludogorets are now third in Group A, but only just, as they are even on points with Basel, but hold the tiebreaker after recording a 1-1 draw in Switzerland.
Thankfully UEFA uses the same arithmetic for tiebreakers in the group stage of the Champions League as it does in the knockout stage. Because of this, the six goals conceded to Arsenal will have little value in terms of whether Ludogorets finishes ahead of FC Basel to continue its European campaign in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 in the spring—Futbolgrad predicted that Ludogorets would finish fourth in the group.
But there are also psychological aspects to consider. What would happen after another heavy defeat to Arsenal? In terms of international football, Ludogorets are still somewhat inexperienced and could, therefore, falter on matchday 5 when they face FC Basel in what will be match that decides whether the club will be still playing European football come the spring.
There are, however, some indications that Ludogorets are quite adept when it comes to responding to poor results. Following their heavy result in London, Ludogorets beat both Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, and PFC Montana 1921 4-0.
What can we, therefore, expect from the match? Ludogorets will likely try to defend deep in their own half, and look for potential counter attacks. The Bulgarians only hope is to capture Arsenal off guard, and to rely on heavy defending with perhaps a lucky goal to snatch a draw, or a victory.
Arsenal are in a gridlock with Paris Saint-Germain over who will win the group and, therefore, can not afford to slip in Bulgaria. Consequently, it is likely that Arsène Wenger will field the strongest possible squad for the match.
Futbolgrad’s prediction: Ludogorets vs Arsenal 0-4
Possible Line-ups
Ludogorets Razgrad:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Stoyanov – Natanael, Palomino, Plastun, Cicinho – Marcelinho, Campanharo – Wanderson, Juninho, Jonathan Cafú – Keseru
Manager: Georgi Dermendzhiev
Arsenal:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Cech – Monreal, Koscielny, Mustafi, Bellerin – Cazorla, Xhaka – Sanchez, Özil, Walcott – Giroud
Manager: Arsène Wenger
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