KILMARNOCK and their 3,000+ travelling supporters will hope for a memorable night in Belgium on Thursday evening as they take on Cercle Brugge in the second leg of their second-round Europa League qualifier.
The pair faced off at a sold-out Rugby Park last Thursday, and after a goalless first half, Ex-Ross County loanee Kazeem Olaigbe gave the Belgians the lead 10 minutes after the interval.
Killie rallied though and equalised on 70 minutes thanks to a slightly fortuitous David Watson goal and despite their best efforts, couldn’t go on to find a winner.
Derek McIness’ men begin their Scottish Premiership campaign on Sunday and could not have been handed a tougher start, as they travel to Celtic Park to take on the reigning champions, Celtic.
Miron Muslic’s visitors did begin their domestic campaign at the weekend, but not in the way they’d hoped, as they fell to a 3-0 defeat away at Westerlo.
How the bookies view it: Belgians Favourites to Head Through
Cercle Brugge have been priced up as favourites here, with a home win best-priced at just 1/2 by Betfred. A victory for the visitors inside the 90 minutes is priced at a massive 5/1 at the likes of PaddyPower, whilst the same firm are offering 7/2 for the draw.
Head to head: A Week on From Their Second Meeting
Unsurprisingly, last week was the first time these two sides have faced off, with it finishing 1-1 in Ayrshire.
Players to watch: Denkey to Deliver?
Cercle Brugge’s top scorer last term Ahoueke Denkey slammed in an impressive 27 goals across his 39 appearances in league and cup but is yet to get off the mark this term.
Captain Kyle Vassell led the line well in the first leg last week, and it was his flick-on that deflected off David Watson’s head that led to Killie’s goal.
Probable line-ups
Fraser Murray came off the bench and had an impressive cameo in the first leg, and will be pushing for a start. Killie will also hope last season's top scorer, Marley Watkins, will be available to feature at some point after failing a late fitness test last week.
Cercle Brugge made three changes at the weekend, but manager Miron Muslic might revert to a similar starting 11 that started that draw in Ayrshire last week following their 3-0 defeat at Mechelen at the weekend.
Cercle Brugge: Warleson, Ravych, Utkus, Daland, Nazinho, Ouattara, Francis, Van der Bruggen, Olaigbe, Somers, Denkey,
Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Mayo, Wright, Findlay, Deas, Donnelly, Lyons, Watson, Armstrong, Kennedy, Vassell
Anything else catch the eye?
Both Teams to Score has banked in eight of Cercle Brugge’s previous 10 Belgian Pro League fixtures on home soil – with their solitary clean sheet coming against relegated RWDM – and a repeat here appeals at 4/5 at Bet365.
As mentioned above, Cercle Brugge’s top scorer last term, Ahoueke Denkey, slammed in an eye-catching 27 goals across his 39 league and cup appearances and is priced up at 20/21 also at Bet365 to get his opening goal of this campaign.
This UEFA Europa League match between Cercle Brugge and Kilmarnock will be played on Aug 1, 2024 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best Cercle Brugge vs Kilmarnock prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
