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Qarabag will host Gent at the Azersun Arena on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League playoff tie.
The home side have enjoyed a solid league campaign so far and will now turn their attention to continental football this week. They began their European campaign in the Europa League earlier this season but struggled to impress, picking up two wins from their six group games and ultimately finishing third in the table.
Qarabag made it to this stage of the competition last season but were beaten 6-1 on aggregate by Olympique Marseille and will hope for better luck this time around.
Gent endured a largely difficult run in the group stages of the continental showpiece, picking up just one win from their first five games in the competition. They, however, secured qualification to the playoffs with a dominant 4-0 win over Norwegian outfit Molde in their final group game, scoring all four goals in the second half.
The visitors made it to the last 16 of the Conference League last season and will now be targeting a deeper run in the tournament this year.
Qarabag vs Gent Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Qarabag and Gent.
- The hosts have had four competitive games against Belgian opponents, winning two of those games and losing the other two.
- Five of Gent's eight league defeats this season have come on the road.
- Qarabag are without a clean sheet in their last five games across all competitions while their opponents have failed to keep any in their last three matches.
- The Horsemen have picked up 29 points on home turf in the Azerbaijan Premier League this season, the highest in the division so far.
- The Buffalos have kept nine clean sheets in the Jupiler Pro League this season. Only Royal Antwerp (13) have kept more.
- The hosts have the best offensive record in the Azerbaijani top-flight this season with a goal tally of 56.
Qarabag vs Gent Prediction
Qarabag are on a run of back-to-back draws but are undefeated in their last five competitive outings. They are yet to taste defeat on home turf this season and will be looking forward to Wednesday's game.
Gent are winless in their last three games and have won just two of their last nine games across all competitions. The hosts are in much better form ahead of the midweek game and should come out on top.
Prediction: Qarabag 2-1 Gent
Qarabag vs Gent Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Qarabag
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Six of the visitors' last seven matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in the hosts' last five matches)
