Ludogorets are desperate to grace the Champions League group stage for the first time since season 2016/17 but face a tricky first hurdle as they renew hostilities with Dinamo Minsk.
Most of the matches at this stage of the qualifiers are David v Goliath affairs but Minsk are no mugs and graced the group stage of the UEFA Conference League last season.
It's a potential banana skin for the Bulgarian champions, although Ludogorets are heavy favourites to progress as they start their latest quest for a seat at Europe's top table.
Since that group campaign nine years ago, they've fallen in the qualifiers eight times and it was Qarabag who ended their dream last summer in the third qualifying round.
Ludogorets won 2-1 in Azerbaijan, with a bet landing for me, but blew it back in Bulgaria as they conceded four times in extra time for a bonkers 8-4 aggregate defeat.
They will now be out to make amends but Dinamo Minsk will be looking for revenge after losing 2-1 on aggregate to the Bulgarians in the second round of qualifiers last term.
Dinamo's title defence is Belarus isn't going well and they currently sit third, 10 points behind leaders Maxline Vitebsk, after 15 games. But Bulgaria's season has yet to get underway so that extra match sharpness could help Dinamo in their bid to avenge last year's loss.
How the bookies view it: Ludogorets home free
I'm surprised to see Ludogorets as short as 2/7 for a win with BoyleSports given they only just beat Minsk last term. The Belarusians look overpriced at 13/2 and the draw pays 15/4.
Head to head: Minsk are the avengers
That second-round qualifier last term was the first meeting of these sides in European competition. Ludogorets won 2-0 at home in the first leg and that was enough to see them sneak through as Dinamo Minsk could only muster a 1-0 victory in the return.
Players to watch: Erick out to make his Marc
Brazilian winger Erick Marcus impressed on loan for Ludogorets last term, netting eight times, and has now made his move from Vasco permanent. He will be a threat in this tie.
Youngster Karen Vardanyan showed his potential by scoring a hat-trick for Dinamo Minsk in their recent 5-0 rout of Dinamo Brest. He could be worth a punt for a goal here if scorer prices finally land.
Probable line-ups
Ludogorets are without stopper Georgi Terziev while fellow defender Noah Sonko Sundberg and striker Kwadwo Duahis are doubts. New boys Filip Kaloc and Stanislav Ivanov could make competitive debuts.
Dinamo Minsk should be close to full strength although Denis Grechikho remains out with a fractured cheekbone while fellow midfielder Aleksey Gavrilovich was taken off injured in their last game.
Ludogorets: Hristov, Pipa, Nedyalkov, Almeida, Piotrowski, Yordanov, Kaloc, Nedelev, Ivanov, Marcus, Bile.
Dinamo Minsk: Shpakovskiy, Apetenok, Myakish, Begunov, Pigas, Igor, Bakic, Ibrahim, Abdullahi, Malashevich, Vardanyan.
Anything else catch the eye?
This is a tricky one to call because although Dinamo Minsk have more competitive games under their belt, they head into this game in poor form, losing three of their last four. But Ludogorets haven't been great in their summer friendlies either, losing 2-0 to Czechs side Hradec Kralove in their last outing.
I've a feeling Dinamo might cause the undercooked Bulgarians a few problems, so BTTS looks good at evens with BoyleSports. Adding on over 2.5 match goals boosts the odds to 6/4. This one could take a while to warm up with Ludogorets a bit rusty and backing most goals to come after the break pays 20/21.
Last season's clash was pretty fiery, with 14 yellow cards dished out across the two legs. That suggests going for cards is a smart move for this game but I've yet to see any prices.
There are markets for corners though and over 9.5 flag kicks pays evens at Bet365, with that bet landing on Minsk's last visit to Bulgaria.
GambleAware