Spartak Trnava vs Ludogorets facts

Spartak Trnava welcome Ludogorets to Slovakia on Matchday 5 in UEFA Europa Conference League Group H still in search of their first win of the campaign.

Michal Gašparík's side did pick up their first point of the section on Matchday 4 with a creditable 1-1 draw away to Nordsjælland thanks to a 61st-minute Michal Ďuriš equaliser. However, they remain bottom of the group on one point, five behind visitors Ludogorets and six off second-placed Nordsjælland.

The Bulgarian side returned to winning ways last time out with a vital 2-0 home win against Fenerbahçe which keeps them in touch with the top two. They are third on six points, one behind Nordsjælland in second with Fenerbahçe leading the way on nine.

Previous meetings 

Ludogorets were 4-0 winners in Razgrad on Matchday 1 in what was the sides' first meeting. With the game scoreless at half-time the Bulgarian side turned on the style in the second-half thanks to goals from Ivan Yordanov (46), Jakub Piotrowski (50, 63) and Rwan Seco (90+4).

Form guide

Spartak Trnava

Record vs Bulgarian clubs: W2 D0 L3 F6 A10
Home record vs Bulgarian clubs: W2 D0 L0

Spartak are hosting Bulgarian opposition for the third time in UEFA competition having played two-legged UEFA Europa League qualifying ties against Levski Sofia and Lokomotiv Plovdiv previously.

Having won both home games they also lost both away from home, winning on penalties against Levski in the 2011/12 third qualifying round (1-2 a, 2-1 h aet) but losing on away goals against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the 2019/20 second qualifying round (0-2 a, 3-1 h).

Following Europa Conference League third qualifying round eliminations in both 2021/22 and 2022/23, losing on aggregate to Maccabi Tel-Aviv (0-1) and Raków Częstochowa (0-3) respectively, Spartak Trnava have made it to just their second-ever UEFA group stage. Their sole previous appearance came in the 2018/19 Europa League when they finished third on seven points in a section containing Anderlecht, Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahçe.

A third successive third-place finish in the Slovak First League in 2022/23 was enough for Trnava to progress to the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League this season. Victories against Latvian side Auda (1-1 a, 4-1 h), Lech Poznań (1-2 a, 3-1 h) and Ukraine's Dnipro-1 (1-1 h, 2-1 a aet) earned Spartak their first group stage appearance in the competition.

Spartak have lost their last two home European games having suffered only one defeat in the previous ten (W6 D3).

Ludogorets

Record vs Slovakian clubs: W2 D0 L1 F8 A2
Away record vs Slovakian clubs: W0 D0 L1

Prior to this season Ludogorets had played just once against Slovakian opposition, beating Slovan Bratislava in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round (1-2 a, 3-0 h).

The Bulgarian title holders are taking part in their tenth group stage in UEFA competition and their eighth in succession but have not progressed directly to the knockout stage since their run to the 2019/20 Europa League round of 32.

Last season Ludogorets finished third in their Europa League section with two wins and a draw from their six games. That set up a knockout round play-off in the Europa Conference League against Anderlecht, but a 3-0 penalty shoot-out defeat following a 2-2 aggregate draw meant their campaign in the competition was a brief one.

After securing a 12th consecutive Bulgarian league title Ludogorets were rewarded with a place in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, where they beat Kosovan side Ballkani (0-2 a, 4-0 h) only to lose in the next round to Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia (1-1 h, 1-2 a). Defeat by Ajax in the Europa League qualifying play-offs (1-4 h, 1-0 a) confirmed their first Europa Conference League group appearance.

The Eagles have lost ten of their last 13 away European games (W1 D2).

Georgi Dermendzhiev was reappointed head coach of Ludogorets for a third time on 24 October. He replaced Ivaylo Petev, who had been in charge since March 2023. Dermendzhiev previously won three league titles with the side in two spells between 2014 and 2017.

Links and trivia 

Spartak's Argentinian defender Nicolás Gorosito featured for Slovan Bratislava in both games against Ludogorets in 2013.

Spartak midfielder Roman Procházka represented Levski Sofia between 2013 and 2018, scoring two goals in his 13 league appearances against Ludogorets.

The Slovakian club's midfielder Kristián Koštrna played twice against Ludogorets in the Bulgaria First League for Pirin Blagoevgrad during 2016/17, losing 1-3 at home and 0-3 away.