On Thursday, April 13th West Ham travels to Belgium to face KAA Gent in the Europa League Conference League Quarter Final. West Ham are sporting a 100% record in the competition with 9 wins in-a-row. Gent’s path wasn’t so clinical, coming through their group 2nd with 2 wins from 6 and 2 losses. They had to get through via the Play-Off and then won well in the Last 16. I run through this match and give you my tips.
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Gent streaky, but impressive at home
KAA Gent came through their league stage 2nd, as mentioned above. They won 2 matches at home and lost 1. They had to fight it out in the Knockout Round Play-Offs. They struggled against Qarabag and went through on penalties. They then went and beat Istanbul Basaksehir with ease. 5-2 on aggregate.
This will be a much bigger test for Gent. One thing they have done well in this Conference League is to win at home. They played 5 and won 3. Losing just 1. If we look at their form in the league then they have won their last 3 at home without letting a goal in. They’re currently 4th in their league.
West Ham impeccable so far
I’ve been really impressed with West Ham in this Europa Conference League. They won their play-off match 6-1 over two legs. Smashed through their group with 6 wins from 6 and then won 6-0 in the Last 16 match, beating Larnica. You really couldn’t ask for much more with 9 wins from 9. West Ham have had a horrible away record this season but it doesn’t seem to have travelled over to Europa Conference League away form.
I actually believe that if West Ham goes out at the Quarter Final stage then Moyes could well go. I get the feeling that Moyes is still the manager because of the Europa run and it could hold more importance to him than anything. So I would like to think that he’d have his full-strength team out there. After all, winning the Europa Conference League gets you a Europa League spot. Which has a 0% chance of being achieved through league positioning.
Team news and head-to-head
West Ham has faced Gent 2 times and has a draw and a win. However, we can’t look at those results, which were many years ago. The 60s. KAA Gent has question marks on which GK they will use. Hyun-Seok could come into the first team as Gent will surely go out there looking for a win with a home advantage.
West Ham went to a flat back 4 and 2 up-top against Fulham. It was very much unexpected and although they got a win against Fulham, the goal was an own-goal and they were dominated in possession and I don’t think it worked. It will be interesting to see if they continue with 2 up top. I very much doubt it. I’m sure Moyes will go back to 3 at the back. Ings will probably drop to the bench with Antonio up front. Scamacca looks to still be injured. Unfortunately, I think Pacqueta will also be out.
KAA Gent vs West Ham Betting Tips
It’s a hard one to call this. Despite West Ham winning (to nil) against Fulham, Fulham dominated. I would be surprised if Gent didn’t score on Thursday. They’ve scored in their last 7 home matches. They’ve won 11 of their last 16 and lost just 1. I know that’s in a weaker league than the Premier League but BTTS looks the bet here. With small stakes on BTTS and West Ham emerging victorious.
Both Teams To Score 5/6 Bet365
Both Teams To Score & West Ham win 15/4 Bet365
All odds accurate at time of writing
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