KAA Gent vs Maccabi Haifa Prediction: Greens can keep Buffalos at bay

The first of the Europa Conference League play-off second legs takes place on Wednesday evening as Belgian side Gent host Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa, who won the first leg 1-0 in Hungary.

The Buffalos go into this meeting in poor form and may struggle to get the necessary victory to defeat Haifa, who picked up four of their five points in finishing third in their higher level Europa League group away from home.

Team News

Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck will be without Sven Kums, Daisuke Yokota, Paul Nardi and Andrew Hjulsager due to various injuries, although there may be a return in defence for Jordan Torunarigha following an ankle problem.

The Belgian outfit have missed the goals of Hugo Cuypers after he was sold to MLS outfit Chicago Fire, and there may be a selection headache for Vanhaezebrouck for who starts up top, with Tarik Tissoudali, Momodou Sonko and former Huddersfield striker Laurent Depoitre all vying for a start.

There are also injury concerns for Maccabi Haifa, with at least four first-team players expected to be absent from the matchday squad.

Dolev Haziza (achilles), Mahmoud Jaber (hamstring), Erik Shuranov (ligament) and Ilay Hajaj (abdominal) will all miss out through injury, while a late test is likely to be conducted on the availability of Sun Menahem who is recovering from a concussion.

Match Odds

The hosts are the favourites to win the second leg at the Ghelamco Arena at 9/10, whereas Maccabi Haifa are 11/4 to win this game and progress to the next round of the Europa Conference League.

The draw is on offer at odds of 11/4, while Gent’s Tissoudali is the favourite to score at any time in the match at 8/5.

Maccabi Haifa to win @ 11/4

Despite having home advantage, Gent’s recent form would indicate a tricky test in store for the Buffalos.

The Belgian side's victory over Eupen at the weekend was their first competitive win in 2024, having lost six of their previous seven games in all competitions, drawing the other.

Meanwhile, Maccabi have won seven of their last 10 games in all competitions and currently top the Israeli Ligat Ha’al on goal difference.

With Gent plummeting down the Jupiler Pro League, it may be a tall order to expect many positives for the Belgian side and another defeat to add to their woeful form could be on the cards.

Under 2.5 goals @ 5/6

Although tipped to win, Maccabi have not been in the best scoring form in Europe this season, with Messay Dego’s side scoring just three times in their Europa League group.

Dego’s men have won three and drawn one of their last four games, keeping three clean sheets as all four games saw no more than two goals.

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