PFC Ludogorets Razgrad play their first home game in the UEFA Champions League on matchday two when the holders Real Madrid CF visit Sofia.
Match background
Ludogorets
• Georgi Dermendzhiev’s Bulgarian title holders made a promising start in the competition at Liverpool FC, losing only to an injury-time penalty in a 2-1 defeat.
• In qualifying for the group stage, Ludogorets played three home games, beating F91 Dudelange (4-0), holding FK Partizan (0-0), and then defeating FC Steaua Bucureşti 1-0 prior to a 6-5 penalty shoot-out success.
• They went four games unbeaten at home in last season’s UEFA Europa League before succumbing 3-0 to Valencia CF in the first leg of an eventual 4-0 round of 16 defeat. It was their first meeting with Spanish opposition.
• As they did last season, Ludogorets are playing their European home games 400 kilometres from Razgrad at the Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski in Sofia as their own Ludogorets Arena does not meet UEFA’s requirements.
Real Madrid
• Madrid began their Group B campaign with a 5-1 home victory against FC Basel 1893.
• They scored 20 goals in six away games in last season’s competition, winning four and losing just one – at Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals (0-2).
• Madrid won two of last term’s away matches by a club-record 6-1 scoreline – at Galatasaray AŞ in the group stage and FC Schalke 04 in the round of 16 first leg. With that latter victory they became the first away team to hit six in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.
• Madrid won 1-0 at PFC Levski Sofia on their only previous trip to Bulgaria in the first round of the 1979/80 European Champion Clubs’ Cup. That first-leg victory set up a 3-0 overall success.
Coach and player links
• As Juventus coach, Carlo Ancelotti oversaw a 3-1 win at Levski in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup second round (aggregate 4-2).
• He was a player in the AS Roma side who earned a 1-0 win over PFC CSKA Sofia at the Vasil Levski (2-0 agg) in the 1983/84 European Cup second round. Ancelotti also helped AC Milan to a 5-2 home victory over Levski in the 1988/89 European Cup first round.
• Gareth Bale hit the only goal when Wales beat a Bulgaria team including Georgi Terziev in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier at the Vasil Levski in October 2011.
• Brayan Angulo lost home (0-1) and away (0-2) Liga matches against Madrid with Granada CF last season. He has also played in Spain for Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and CD Atlético Baleares
• Luka Modrić was in a Croatia Under-21 side beaten 2-1 by Bulgaria in June 2005 at the Bulgarska Armia stadium, just 300 metres from the Vasil Levski.
• Spaniard Dani Abalo was a RC Celta de Vigo player from 2006–13, with a spell on loan at CF Gimnástic de Tarragona in 2011/2012.