While the Europa Conference League traditionally takes place on Thursday's, we have one game on Wednesday this week from the playoff round. Gent are the hosts, and they take on Maccabi Haifa, with the visitors coming into Belgium holding onto a slender 1-0 lead, so it's all to play for when they take each other on for the second time in a week.
Gent Form GuideI was impressed by Gent last week, and felt like they deserved something from the game. They had 20 shots on target, and while many of them were half chances, some less than that, they need to be a lot more clinical, and take care of the chances they get here.
The good news is that they are down by just one, so they can get right back into this game with only a single goal, though of course, will need more to win it. They played at home on Sunday and scored twice in a 2-0 away win at Eupen and will be hoping to build on that.
Maccabi Haifa Form GuideMaccabi will have been hoping for more from their first leg, but they didn't get it. I wasn't overly impressed with how they played either, and they continued that run when they were back in action domestically at the weekend. They played at home to Hapoel Haifa, but could only manage a 1-1 draw in a game that could have let Maccabi extend their lead at the top of the standings.
What they will try and work on though is the fact that they kept a clean sheet in the first game, despite facing a lot of chances from the opposition, and another clean sheet here would be enough for them to qualify.
Match PredictionI am going to side with Gent to win this game. I thought they played well last week, and created enough to score, but failed to get the ball over the line. Tonight, I think they do, and while the qualifier may need extra time, I do think Gent can do enough to win this game in 90 minutes, so that's my pick.
