Languishing in fourth place with five points from five qualifiers, Bulgaria face an uphill task to revive their challenge for a place in the Euro 2016 play-offs.

Coach Ivaylo Petev, who replaced Lyuboslav Penev after the 1-1 home draw against Malta, said Bulgaria have to win today’s Group H qualifier at the National Stadium to get back into contention for third place.

“Three points are crucial for us,” Petev said. “We have to beat Malta at all costs.”

A 4-0 defeat to Turkey in a friendly match has further increased the pressure on Bulgaria to get a result against Malta.

Petev, a young coach who made a name for himself during a successful three-year spell with Ludogorets, is expected to make a few changes from the team that started in Turkey.

Key midfielder Georgi Milanov, who plays for Russian club CSKA Moscow, has recovered from the injury that kept him out of Monday’s defeat but it remains to be seen whether Petev decides to use him from the start.

The Bulgaria squad arrived in Malta early yesterday afternoon on a chartered flight from Sofia. They had a training session at the National Stadium in the evening.

In their last Group H outing, back in March, Bulgaria, who have failed to qualify for the last two European Champion-ships, were held to a 2-2 home draw by Italy.

Croatia lead Group H on 13 points, two more than Italy. Norway are third on nine points, four ahead of Bulgaria. Azerbaijan have three points with Malta bottom of the pool with one point.