KAA Gent vs West Ham United
UEFA Europa League Conference, KO: 17:45 Apr 13, 2023, The Ghelamco Arena
WEST HAM UNITED resume their Europa Conference League campaign with a quarter-final first leg tie against KAA Gent on Thursday evening.
The Hammers haven't had their problems to seek domestically this season, although they did give their Premier League survival hopes a boost with a hard-fought 1-10 win at Fulham on Saturday.
That crucial win at Craven Cottage has helped alleviate some of the pressure that was mounting on manager David Moyes, who could still be the man to deliver the capital club's first major trophy since 1980.
West Ham's European form has been the only real shining light of their season so far and they will be looking to continue their good work on the continent with a win over Gent on Thursday.
The Belgians finished second in their group and they have since seen off both Qarabag and Istanbul Basaksehir to book a last-eight berth against West Ham.
Closer to home, Hein Vanhaezebrouck's side saw their four-game winning run in the Belgian Pro League come to an end when being held to a 1-1 at home to Union Saint-Gilloise on Saturday.
Outright Betting
Despite avoiding defeat in 15 of their last 16 home matches in all competitions, Gent go into this first leg as 5/2 (Bet 365) outsiders while the draw can be backed at 12/5 (Bet 365).
West Ham, who boast a 100% record in this season's Europa Conference League, arrive in Belgium as 11/10 (Bet 365) favourites.
Betting Angles
At the best of times, West Ham are difficult to trust, so I'm happy to instead side with the 5/6 (Bet 365) on both teams scoring on Thursday evening.
The Hammers have performed well below expectations this season and that can in part be attributed to their defensive shortcomings.
While David Moyes' rearguard registered a rare clean sheet on Saturday, they have conceded at least once in 22 of their 29 top -light fixtures this term so far.
What's more, West Ham were unable to shut out the likes of Anderlecht, Silkeborg and FSCB during the Europa Conference League group phase, so they could struggle to tame a Gent team that have been scoring goals by the bucket load in recent times.
The Belgian outfit have banged in 19 goals across their last five matches in all competitions so they will be quietly confident that they can carve out scoring opportunities against West Ham.
With that in mind, coupled with the fact that West Ham have scored in all 10 of their Europa Conference league assignments this term to date, going for goals at both ends at the Ghelamco Arena seems like a sensible solution at 5/6 (Bet 365).
One man in particular that West Ham will have to be wary of is Gent goal-machine Gift Orban who is as big as 5/2 (Bet 365) to get on the scoresheet.
The highly-rated Nigerian has racked up 14 goals across his 12 appearances since arriving from Norway half way through the season and he looks overpriced to get in on the act here.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between KAA Gent and West Ham United will be played on Apr 13, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best KAA Gent vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
