- Team form: Lokomotiv Plovdiv have not won the Plovdiv derby in their last home game against Botev, so revenge is on their mind.
- Tactics and attack: Botev Plovdiv have played in a more attacking style under Lachezar Baltanov’s guidance, recently beating Cherno More Varna 5-0 at home.
- Standings: Lokomotiv Plovdiv are 2nd in Parva Liga with 52 points from 35 matches.
Plovdiv derby rivals both coming off poor form
Recent results
Lokomotiv suffered a 4-0 away defeat to Arda Kardzhali and lost to CSKA Sofia in the Bulgarian Cup after a penalty shootout. This leaves Lokomotiv with just two wins from the last five matches in all competitions.
Playing style and key players
Lokomotiv play a tough, compact style under Dusan Kosic, who stresses discipline and structure. They are a team with a good shape and transition game, usually lining up in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, which allows them to be organized in a low-block and break quickly on the counterattack.
Joel Zwarts is the team’s most dangerous player, having netted 3 of the team's last 5 goals.
Botev are a more attack-minded side under Lachezar Baltanov, who has recently instilled an appetite for creativity and attacking combinations. That shows in their recent 5-0 home win against Cherno More Varna and 2-1 home defeat to high-flying Arda Kardzhali.
They scored 1.41 goals per away game in Parva Liga but also conceded 1.18 on average. There is no doubting their ambition to push the game forward, but it can leave gaps behind the attack, especially when the experienced forwards aren’t quite clicking with Carlos Meotti’s creativity in the midfield link-up.
- Joel Zwarts is the team’s most dangerous player, having netted 3 of the team's last 5 goals.
- That shows in their recent 5-0 home win against Cherno More Varna and 2-1 home defeat to high-flying Arda Kardzhali.
- They scored 1.41 goals per away game in Parva Liga but also conceded 1.18 on average.
Plovdiv will be a tight and tense game
Recent results underline how closely matched these rivals are in the Plovdiv derbies. The last five Plovdiv derbies have produced one win apiece and three draws.
The stats certainly favour Botev to win as the bookmakers do with 2.09 on Botev and 3.66 on Lokomotiv, but we feel there are enough reasons to doubt that.
With the bragging rights and Parva Liga positions at stake, this will be no ordinary derby. Baltanov’s fresh approach will look to exploit the space behind Lokomotiv’s lines while Kosic’s discipline-first tactics will leave Botev chasing the ball.
The home side’s organization and set-piece threat will make them dangerous in the close games, as Botev’s attacking verve will make them so too.
We’re avoiding the moneyline and taking the under 2.5 goals at 1.74 because a tight, cagey game is more likely than an open match.
