Lothar Matthaeus' Bulgaria will be without the likes of key men Stiliyan Petrov and Martin Petrov, as the team faces Saudi Arabia in a friendly on Tuesday evening.

The game will start at 6:30 p.m. Bulgarian local time in Istanbul.

The friendly match will give Matthaeus the opportunity to try younger and less experienced players while Stiliyan and Martin will be protected from possible injuries.

The much-traveled Matthaeus, who replaced Stanimar Stoilov after he quit following Euro 2012 qualifying defeats to England, and more damagingly, Montenegro last month, is confident his team will score a victory.

"I expect a good match and of course a victory for us. The friendly will be very useful for the football players and for me. The matches in the national team must always be a matter of honour, regardless of the team against which you play, whether it is an official match or a friendly," Matthaeus said prior to the match.

He believes however that the team needs stronger rivals to help them improve their skills.

"I want Bulgaria to play against one of the strongest teams in the world. Only matches with Brazil, Germany and Argentine will help Bulgaria internationals improve their skills," the German said.

Bulgaria's national football team beat Wales 1:0 in Cardiff late on Friday in a match, which marked Lothar Matthaeus debut as a coach of the Balkan country.

Thus, after losing from England and Montenegro at the start, Bulgaria won their first three points in Group G of the Euro 2012 qualifications.

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