Gent v West Ham Betting Tips [13 April 2023]

The Europa Conference League quarter-final begins with Belgian club KAA Gent hosting English side West Ham United at the Ghelamco Arena for the first leg of this two-legged tie. West Ham advanced to this stage of the competition after a dominant 6-0 aggregate victory against Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the round of 16. Gent, meanwhile, had to outlast two knockout rounds to reach this point. They scrapped past Azerbaijani side Qarabag on penalties before a dominant away performance saw them run out 5-2 aggregate winners against Turkish side Basaksehir in the round of 16. 

It’s been mixed results for Gent so far in this competition despite making it to the quarter final. The Buffalos finished second in their group, managing only two wins from the six group stage matches. The knockout round results means that Gent has managed only four wins from their 10 total Conference League matches so far. They will certainly take confidence from their last outing in this competition however, as the Belgian side stormed to a 4-1 away victory over Basaksehir in what was undoubtedly their best performance of the tournament so far. Gent come into this matchup against their English opponents riding a seven game unbeaten run. Their last outing was a 1-1 draw with USG which snapped a four match winning streak. Gent’s attack has been on a tear recently and have netted a total of 19 goals in their last five matches across all competitions, for an average of 3.8 per game.

West Ham have performed much better in their maiden voyage through the UEFA Conference League. The East-London based club finished with a perfect six victories from six matches in the group stage and met very little resistance from AEK in the round of 16. Their results mean that the Hammers have won all eight of their Conference League matches so far, scoring a total of 19 goals while conceding just four in the tournament. Manager David Moyes will be desperate for a triumph in this competition as his team continues their battle against relegation in the Premier League. Things have been looking better for West Ham in recent weeks as the club has managed a strong four wins, one draw and only one loss in the previous six matches. The loss, however, was a heavy 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Newcastle. West Ham responded from that result in a positive manner, picking up a vital three points in a 1-0 away win over Fulham on the weekend.

West Ham’s near faultless performance in this competition so far has the bookmakers listing the English club as the favorites to walk away from Gent with a win. However, this could prove to be a tricky match for Moyes’ men as the hosts have been on a particularly strong run of form and have been banging the goals in for fun lately. With an in-form side in front of their home fans at a very reasonable price, we can’t pass up the opportunity to back KAA Gent to avoid defeat in this fixture. Our KAA Gent vs West Ham United prediction: Gent double chance