Kilmarnock vs Cercle Brugge Prediction: Tight affair expected

Kilmarnock welcome Cercle Brugge to Rugby Park for the first leg of their Europa League second round qualifier on Thursday (19:30), looking to take the advantage in the tie on home soil.

Derek McInnes' side will certainly make things difficult for their opponents here as they know they will find it tough in Belgium for the second leg next week. Below are is my Kilmarnock vs Cercle Brugge prediction, where you will also find match odds and team news.

Kilmarnock vs Cercle Brugge Odds 

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Kilmarnock are 11/4 to win this match, giving them an implied probability of 26.7%. Cercle Brugge are valued at 5/6, which gives them a 54.5% chance of victory. The draw is available at 12/5 (29.4%).

Both teams to score is on offer at 4/6 and over 2.5 goals is marketed at 8/11.

Football Odds

Team News

Kilmarnock have added two new faces to their squad over the summer so far in Bruce Anderson and Robbie McCrorie. The duo have featured in pre-season and so they will both be in contention to feature here.

Anderson will be hoping to form a strike partnership with the club's top scorer from last season, Marley Watkins, who netted 13 times in all competitions. He will be competing with Kyle Vassell for a place alongside the star forward.

McInnes is set to name a strong lineup up for this home leg, which should see the likes of Danny Armstrong, Stuart Findlay and David Watson all feature from the get-go.

For Cercle Brugge, their own new addition, Ibrahim Diakite will be hoping to get the nod to start at right-back for this crunch clash.

After scoring 28 goals last term across all competitions, Kevin Denkey will be turned to for inspiration in Kilmarnock for this one, and is one player in particular the hosts need to be most concerned about.

He will most likely be joined by Yann Gboho, Alan Minda and Felix Lemarechal in attack.

Draw @ 12/5

I think this is a tough one to call because you have two teams that are looking to reach the group stage of the Europa League for the first time in their respective histories.

Cercle Brugge made it to the third qualifying round back in 2010/11, and this is their first appearance in the competition since. Kilmarnock last made it to the qualifiers in 2019/20, when they crashed out in the first round to Connah's Quay Nomads.

Both will be eager to take the lead in this opening leg and I am expecting a cagey affair at Rugby Park. The hosts are a tough nut to crack on their own turf, which could make things difficult for the Belgian side.

However, Cercle Brugge do have some strong attacking players, most notably Denkey, who can win matches single-handedly. Kilmarnock will be wary and I think McInnes will look to suppress the opposition attackers, but whether it can last over 90 minutes remains to be seen.

They do have players who can deliver moments in the final third themselves, such as Watkins, who will be eager to deliver on the European stage. I can see the two teams cancelling each other out here, teeing up a huge clash in Belgium in a week's time.

Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1

I have already mentioned that I believe this can be a cagey affair. Kilmarnock can be quite stubborn when playing at home, so I don't think we will see an abundance of goals on Thursday.

Both teams will want to take a lead into the second leg but I can see Cercle Brugge being cautious so that they are not leaving themselves vulnerable for counter-attacks, while Kilmarnock will look to maintain their shape and organisation to make life difficult for the visitors.

With this tie taking place during both club's pre-season preparations too, it is hard to see either side being at their best in the final third while preparations for the new campaign are still ongoing. It will be a valuable workout for them both, but I do think goals will be in short supply as a result.

Offers

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