Gent take on the visitors Qarabag in the second leg of UEFA Conference League 1/16-final round. The first leg result: 0-1. The match will be played on Thursday, February 23rd at Ghelamco Arena (Gent).
Gent currently represents the "second tier" of Belgian football. The "Buffaloes" have not been able to repeat their success of 2015, when they won their only championship in history. In the previous season, they finished in a relatively modest 5th place, but combined it with a victory in the country's cup. This allowed them to start in the Europa League qualification, but there, under the guidance of Hein Vanhaezebrouck, they twice lost 0-2 to the modest Omonia. As a result, they moved to the Conference League, where things didn't always go well - they lost to Djurgarden in both matches in the fall. But they managed to collect 4 points each against Shamrock Rovers and Molde, which was enough to make it to the playoffs. In Baku they lost 0-1, but this leaves good chances for overall success.
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Qarabag remains the strongest team in Azerbaijan. The Foals in many ways resemble the eastern version of PSG. They have become so "satiated" with internal success that in the previous round they managed to generously concede the 1st place in the national championship to Neftchi (however, in the following season they returned the "gold" to themselves, and the lead now is incredible). In any case, the indicator of success is still considered to be what was achieved on the international stage. In the Champions League, Qarabag were only stopped there at the end of the summer, losing by one goal in the decisive qualifying round to ViKtoria (Plzen). In the Europa League, under the guidance of Gurbanov, they managed to collect 8 points with Freiburg, Nantes, and Olympiacos, which was disappointingly enough for only 3rd place. But on February 16, they managed to start the Conference League with a victory over Gent - Andrade scored the only goal on the 78th minute. And if Sheydaev had scored the penalty just a little earlier…
Last week, the clubs played against each other for the first time. The Belgians are considered the favorites, but the Azerbaijanis have shown their class. Let's bet that Qarabag won't lose.
Prediction for the match: Qarabag not to lose (X2).
