Ludogorets vs Tottenham preview, team news, kick-off

Team news and stats ahead of Ludogorets vs Tottenham in the Europa League group stage on Thursday; kick-off 5.55pm.

Team news

Tottenham will be without Sergio Reguilon, Erik Lamela and Serge Aurier for the Europa League trip to Ludogorets. All three players were missing from training on Wednesday ahead of the journey to Bulgaria.

Japhet Tanganga (thigh) and summer signing Joe Rodon, who was not registered in their Europa League squad, will play no part, but Dele Alli could return and Mourinho has already confirmed Gareth Bale will start.

Ludogorets trio Jordan Ikoko, Mavis Tchibota and Cauly all came off the bench against LASK, and could start in north London, with Wanderson and Higinio Marin their two long-term absentees.

• Europa League Group J | News | Fixtures

Ludogorets at a glance

The coach: Stanislav Genchev is only 39 and in his first management role, having taken over temporary control from Pavel Vrba following his departure on October 25. For Genchev, to be coming up against Jose Mourinho will be a proud moment, but he says it will be just a footnote in the game.

"It is an exceptional thing to go up such against an amazing coach, whom I really admire," he said. "But it is not me against him, it is the players on the pitch who will decide the game, it is club v club."

European pedigree: Since winning the Bulgarian league for the first time in their history in 2012, Ludogorets have qualified for Europe every season since. They reached the round of 16 in the Europa League in 2013/14 after topping their group and the round of 32 in 2017/18 and last season.

Form: They are unbeaten in nine games in the Bulgarian top flight and top of the division on goal difference. Ludogorets are still looking for their first point in the Europa League after beginning with back-to-back defeats.

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How to follow

Follow Ludogorets vs Tottenham with our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms from 4.30pm on Thursday; kick off 5.55pm.

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• Ludogorets and Tottenham have never previously met in European competition.
• This will be Ludogorets' fifth game against English opposition, losing three of those other four matches, the other being a 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League in November 2014.
• Spurs had never previously faced Bulgarian opposition but will do so for the second time in the space of two months having already faced Lokomotiv Plovdiv during the qualification stages of this competition in September, winning 2-1 away from home.
• Ludogorets have only won one of their last 11 home matches in the UEFA Europa League (D4 L6), a 5-1 victory against CSKA Moscow in September 2019.
• Spurs have only lost back to back UEFA Europa League group stage games once previously, losing to Rubin Kazan and PAOK Salonika in November 2011.

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