Gent take on Djurgardens IF in their third Europa Conference League group stage game at the Ghelamco Arena on Thursday night.

Both sides currently have a record of one win and one draw so far, with the winner set to top the group at the halfway stage.

Match preview

Gent secured a fifth-place finish in the Belgian Pro League last season, topping the second playoff group and gaining a spot in the playoff round for the Europa League.

However, a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Omonia Nicosia for Hein Vanhaezebrouck's team meant they fell into Europe's tertiary competition instead.

To this point, De Buffalo's have been solid in European action, yet to concede a goal having kicked off the group stage with a 0-0 draw away to Molde, before romping home to a convincing 3-0 win back on home turf against Shamrock Rovers.

In the league however, the Belgian side have not had the same good start, currently sitting in ninth, outside the playoff positions and trailing the top four by five points.

Recent form is largely to blame for Gent's disappointing position in the table, coming into Thursday's clash after two consecutive defeats in the league, most recently losing 4-3 at home to 17th-placed Cercle Brugge, highlighting the defensive frailties in the team.

Although falling to a disappointing defeat at the weekend, one positive for Hein Vanhaezebrouck to take from it is the two goals from Hugo Cuypers, the striker taking his tally for the season to seven, the highest in the Belgian Pro League.

The visitors also come into Thursday's game off the back of a defeat, the Allsvenskan side losing 3-0 to 14th-placed Degerfors, in what was a huge shock given the fact Djurgarden are currently top of the league.

Manager Kim Bergstrand will be hoping that the last result was just a blip, and he has good reason to believe it was, with Djurgarden unbeaten in 13 league outings prior to that and in prime position to win the title with just six games to go.

To get to this point, Djurgarden have had to battle through three rounds of qualifying, beating Rijeka 4-0 on aggregate at the first stage before cruising past Sepsi, and securing a 5-3 aggregate win against APOEL to reach the group stage.

After working so hard to get to the Europa Conference League, Kim Bergstrand's side have so far not let the opportunity pass them by, getting a point away from home after drawing to Shamrock Rovers in the first group game, and following it up with a last-gasp 3-2 win against Molde last time out.

Despite the great season Djurgarden are having, one concern will be away form in recent weeks, the Swedish side only winning two of their last eight games on the road in all competitions, so they will need to be at their best to get something at the Ghelamco Arena.

Team News

Jordan Torunarigha is set to miss out for Gent with a muscle injury sustained against Genk that also saw him miss Sunday's defeat to Cercle Brugge, with forward Darko Lemajic also questionable with a similar problem.

Ibrahim Salah will also be unavailable for the hosts with an injury problem that saw him omitted from the squad in the last match, with Laurent Depoitre instead likely to start in attack, alongside Hugo Cuypers.

A 3-4-1-2 system has been favoured by Kim Bergstrand since the start of September, with Hyun-Seok Hong being a vital part of his approach, and the South Korean is set to start in behind the two strikers.

Djurgarden have found success in the league so far this season by sticking with their 4-3-3 formation, and the Swedish side will no doubt stick to their principles and play this way on Thursday.

Key to their chances will be the performance of left-winger Victor Edvardsen, who has nine goals and nine assists to his name in the league this season, with 19-year-old Amadou Doumbouya set to start on the opposite flank.

Joel Asoro was the man who bagged the late winner against Molde in their last Europa Conference League match, and he is set to start up front.

Gent possible starting lineup:
Roef; Godeau, Ngadeu, Okumu; Kums, Hjulsager, Odjidja-Ofoe, Castro-Montes, Hong; Depoitre, Cuypers

Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Johansson, Lofgren, Danielson, Andersson; Eriksson, Schuller, Finndell; Edvardsen, Doumbouya, Asoro

We say: Gent 2-1 Djurgardens IF

Gent have not been in good form recently, but we back them to have enough to get the three points, especially with Djurgarden struggling on the road in recent matches. It is likely to be by a narrow margin, but Gent should win and remain top of the group.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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