Nordsjaelland vs Ludogorets prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-04 19:00.
It’s been a steady start to the campaign overall for Nordsjælland, who won five of their first six in the Danish Superliga, but have since drawn five of their most recent six across 90 minutes in all competitions. They weren’t fortunate enough to get a draw in their UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) opener though, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat away to Turkish giants Fenerbahçe.
This campaign is the first time that Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side have been involved in a European competition for five seasons, and history will be made on Thursday as they host Ludogorets. It will be the first-time ever that Nordsjælland have faced a Bulgarian outfit, and after winning both their UECL home games in qualification without conceding a goal, they’ll hope to mark the occasion with a victory.
The Bulgarians are more well-versed when it comes to escapades on the continent, having played an impressive 138 European games to date, over a 100 more than Nordsjælland! This campaign is also a first-ever one in the UECL for the Eagles, who flexed their experienced European muscles in their opening Group H game with a thumping 4-0 victory over Spartak Trnava.
Ivaylo Petev’s men have been solid if not spectacular in their domestic league, winning six of their first ten and taking 20 points overall, a tally that’s nowhere near enough to challenge the First League’s top dogs. They do at least come into this game in good form, unbeaten in their last seven across all competitions (W5, D2), but given they’re yet to beat Danish opposition in UEFA competition, adding to that with a win seems unlikely.
Players to watch: Marcus Ingvartsen has 11 goals in all competitions so far this season for Nordsjælland, including four in three qualifiers to get them into the group stages of the UECL. Averaging a goal every 84 minutes, he missed a penalty in their goalless draw at the weekend. Bernard Tekpetey has found the back of the net eight times already for Ludogorets this season, all of which arrived before the hour mark.
Hot stat: Nordsjælland have scored after half-time in six of their last seven home matches in all competitions.