WEST HAM UNITED will be bidding to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League when they welcome KAA Gent to the London Stadium for the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday night.
The tie is delicately poised following a 1-1 draw in Belgium last midweek, on an evening where my Both Teams to Score bet banked in Belgium.
David Moyes' men were far from their best in the first leg but they have put themselves in a good position to reach the last-four of Europe's third tier competition as they seek to end a 43-year trophy drought.
Last time out, the Hammers boosted their Premier League survival hopes by battling back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with table-topping Arsenal.
KAA Gent were also in action on Sunday, on an afternoon where they shared the spoils with Mechelen in a 1-1 draw.
Hein Vanhaezebrouck's side romped to a 4-1 victory in the Turkish capital in the second leg of their round of 16 Conference League tie with Istanbul Basaksehir so they certainly won't be fazed with the task in hand here.
Outright Betting
West Ham United boast a 100% home record in this season's Europa Conference League and the bookies' odds suggest that trend will continue, with a home win trading at 4/7 (Bet 365).
A repeat of last week's stalemate can be backed at 14/5 (William Hill) while the visitors are as big as 5/1 (Bet 365) to claim top honours at the London Stadium.
Betting Angles
West Ham are too short to get involved with at the above-mentioned quote but backing the home team to score two or more goals looks a more tempting option at 4/5 (William Hill).
While the Hammers haven't had their troubles to seek domestically this season, they will certainly be buoyed by their performance when roaring back from a two-goal deficit to earn a well deserved 2-2 with Arsenal on Sunday.
What's more, West Ham have been well-nigh flawless in Europe this season, with last week's first leg draw with Gent the only minor blot on their copybook thus far.
It's also worth pointing out that David Moyes' men have made the net bulge at least once in each of their 11 continental contests this season so far, which doesn't bode well for a Gent side without a clean sheet in four of their last five European assignments.
Having said that, Hein Vanhaezebrouck's side have struck in each of their last eight Conference League fixtures so the home team may have to rely on a couple of goals if they are are to overcome their Belgian guests inside 90 minutes.
With all that in mind, coupled with the fact this bet would have paid out in eight of the Irons' 11 European games this season so far, siding with Over 1.5 West Ham goals stands out at 4/5 (William Hill).
On a similar line of reasoning to the above, I'll also have a speculative punt on West Ham to win by a scoreline of either 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 at 7/2 (PaddyPower).
West Ham have won by one of the above-mentioned correct scores in three of their five Europa Conference League home wins this season and I suspect there could be scope for a repeat here in what should be an enjoyable encounter in east London.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between West Ham United and KAA Gent will be played on Apr 20, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs KAA Gent prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
