The task for Gent will be to keep alive their chances of progressing to the knockout phase as they travel to Shamrock Rovers for a Group F fixture in the Europa Conference League.
Shamrock Rovers head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 4-1 victory over St Patrick’s Athletic in a domestic fixture last Friday. Graham Burke netted a brace while Sean Hoare and Daniel Cleary were also on target as they sealed the League of Ireland title.
The conundrum for Shamrock Rovers this season has been their inability to transmit their domestic dominance into their European fixtures. They are yet to earn a single win after four matches in the Europa Conference League, suffering three defeats in that run.
Not only are Shamrock Rovers without a win in the Conference League, they have also failed to register a goal. Stephen Bradley’s men suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Molde in their previous fixture in the competition.
Gent have fared only slightly better than Shamrock Rovers having claimed just one win from four Europa Conference League matches. They are currently third on they table and sit six points behind surprise leaders Djurgarden.
The Belgians have battled with inconsistency this season and have claimed three wins and suffered two defeats in their last five matches across all competitions. Among their defeats in that run was a 4-2 loss to Djurgarden in their previous Europa Conference League fixture.
Despite their erratic form this season, Gent will travel to Shamrock Rovers with some confidence having claimed a 3-0 victory in the first meeting for their only win in the competition so far. Hein Vanhaezebrouk’s men also warmed up for Thursday’s clash with a 2-1 victory over RFC Seraing in a Belgian First Division clash last Sunday.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Gent as overwhelming favourites with a win priced at 4/6 by bet365. Shamrock Rovers are considered outsiders at 17/4 by Unibet, who are also offering odds of 3/1 for a draw.
Head to head
There has been only one previous meeting between Shamrock Rovers and Gent with the Belgians claiming a 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch
Hugo Cuypers is the leading scorer for Gent this season and will be the one tasked with providing the spark in attack. The striker was on target last time out at Djugarden and is priced at 13/10 by Paddy Power to find the net on Thursday.
Given Shamrock Rovers’ goalscoring problems in the Conference League, Gent will be targeting a shutout on Thursday. Jordan Torunarigha and Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui featured in central defence when the Belgians kept a clean sheet in the first meeting and can lead them to a repeat at 5/4 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Gent claimed a win to nil in the first meeting with Shamrock Rovers and could be set for a repeat at 13/8 with Unibet. The one-sided nature of that result means a -1 handicap could also be considered at 9/5 with Paddy Power.
With Shamrock Rovers struggling for goals in the Conference League, BTTS NO could also be on the cards at 10/11 with Paddy Power.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Shamrock Rovers and Gent will be played on Oct 27, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Shamrock Rovers vs Gent prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.