Ludogorets bid to follow in CSKA’s footsteps

SOFIA — Bulgarian underdogs Ludogorets will look to match the stunning giant-killing exploits of compatriots CSKA Sofia when they make their Champions League home debut against titleholders Real Madrid on Wednesday.

CSKA, the most successful club in the Balkan country with 31 titles, boast a remarkable record of upsetting the odds, including European Cup wins over then-champions Ajax Amsterdam in 1973, Nottingham Forest in 1980 and Liverpool two years later.

CSKA and their bitter city rivals Levski are the traditional powerhouses of Bulgarian football but there is no doubt that the form side of the past three seasons has been Ludogorets.

“It won’t be easy but we’ll do our best because it’s a historical match for Ludogorets,” Abalo said. “I hope that someday I’ll return to La Liga.”

With centre-backs Alexandre Barthe and Georgi Terziev still recovering from injury, Dermendzhiev will once again rely on crowd favourite Cosmin Moti and Aleksandar Aleksandrov in the heart of the defence.

Slovenian Roman Bezjak has netted only once in 10 matches this campaign and looks a pale shadow of the goal-scoring machine he was last season, but he will play as a sole striker once again with Tunisia forward Younes Hamza on the bench. 

Prolific form

Real have put a stuttering start in La Liga firmly behind them in recent weeks, helped by the prolific form of World Player of the Year Ronaldo, who hit a record 17 goals in last season’s triumphant Champions League campaign.

When he struck in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Villarreal, the Portugal forward became the first Real player to score 10 goals in the opening six games of the league season, surpassing club greats Alfredo Di Stefano and Amancio Amaro, who jointly held the previous record of nine.

Ronaldo’s haul actually came in only five La Liga games as he missed the 4-2 defeat at Real Sociedad and appears to have overcome a couple of niggling injuries that he carried into this season from the end of last term.

The European champions have amassed 20 goals in their last four outings in all competitions, including a 5-1 drubbing of FC Basel in their opening Group B encounter.

Real have played in Bulgaria only once before, a 1-0 first-leg success at Levski in the first round of the 1979-80 European Cup.

‘Arsenal must beat Galatasaray’

It is almost a given that Arsenal reach the knockout stages but their path to the last 16 could become “problematic” if they fail to beat Galatasaray.

That was the stark warning from midfielder Santi Cazorla ahead of the clash with the Turkish side at The Emirates where Arsenal will attempt to kickstart their European campaign after failing to turn up in Dortmund two weeks ago.

“It was a bad game [in Dortmund],” Cazorla told Arsenal’s website. “Now we are fully aware that we are almost obliged to win the next Champions League game because there may be problematic times for us if we don’t so we’d better win.

Arsenal got off lightly in their Group D opener, lucky to lose only 2-0 in Dortmund after being comprehensively outplayed for 90 minutes by the Bundesliga side who already look strong favourites to top the group.

Although a home match against Galatasaray — who have never beaten an English side away — would appear to offer the perfect chance for Arsene Wenger’s side to respond with a handsome victory, things may not be quite that simple.

Wenger’s squad is at full-stretch after a rash of injuries, the most recent of which came in Saturday’s 1-1 derby draw with Tottenham Hotspur when Michel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey were both ruled out of Wednesday’s match.

With Jack Wilshere also a doubt after taking a knock to the ankle, right back Mathieu Debuchy out for three months and Theo Walcott still not ready to return from a cruciate ligament injury, Arsenal will not be at full strength.

They still have the attacking threat of record signing Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez, who came off the bench against Tottenham having been rested, and Cazorla, however, not to mention Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who scored his side’s leveller against Spurs.

“The most important thing for Arsenal right now is to win the next game and that is going to change the scenario completely,” Cazorla said.

“Once we go through the group stage it becomes even more difficult to win games.”

Arsenal are in their 17th consecutive season in the Champions League and not since 1999-2000 have they failed to progress from their group, the same season they ended up losing to Galatasaray on penalties in the UEFA Cup final.

Galatasaray, who began with a draw against Anderlecht, have not been anywhere near as reliable although they did reach the quarter-finals in 2012-13 after a five-year absence from the competition.

Atletico Madrid’s Champions League game at home to Juventus will be a chance for the Spanish champions to prove they have the firepower to challenge in Europe again this season.

Diego Costa, top scorer for Atletico last term when they reached the final of the continent’s elite club competition, has departed for Chelsea and a lack of recent goals had prompted murmurs that the side will struggle without the Brazil-born Spain striker.

The player Atletico bought to replace Costa, Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic, broke his nose in the 3-2 Group A defeat at Olympiakos Piraeus on Champions League matchday one and needed surgery.

He will have to wear a striking black protective mask for the foreseeable future.