KAA Gent v Shakhtar Donetsk Betting Tips

This match in Europa League Group H may be a contest between the top two, but it’s certainly a game that is of more importance to the home side.

KAA Gent was the surprise package in last season’s Champions League, qualifying out of a difficult group before being knocked out by VFL Wolfsburg.

This season they find themselves in Europe’s secondary competition and they were faring well with one win and one draw before a 5-0 thrashing by Thursday night’s opponents Shakhtar Donetsk in the last round of fixtures. Shakhtar are undoubtedly the dominant force in the group but Gent will feel they have a good chance of qualifying ahead of both Braga and Konyaspor.

Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s team are actually having a pretty poor season on the domestic front and are currently sixth in the table and six points off top spot. Recent form has been incredibly inconsistent and it looks like Gent are on a loop. Their last eight games have seen them win one and then immediately lose the next before the pattern repeats itself.

Upon closer inspection it is the away form that has caused all of Gent’s problems with The Buffallos losing their last four matches on the road and are still yet to win an away game all season. Shakhtar of course confounded Gent’s away misery with their 5-0 thrashing last time out in this competition.

However, with the Ukrainian side now having to visit Belgium, Gent will feel they have a good chance of coming out on top having won all of their matches in all competitions this season, scoring 23 and conceding just four. This includes the one Europa League match staged at GHELAMCO-arena which saw Gent beat Konyaspor 2-0. With more matches set to be played at home rather than away for Gent in the remaining group stage fixtures, they will feel that they should be qualifying from Group H with relative ease.

Having said that, if the hosts suffer a similar defeat to Shakhtar as they did last time, then goal difference could see them knocked out. Will Vanhaezebrouck go for the win or simple damage limitation?

Unsurprising;y, Shakhtar top the Ukrainian Premier League by a significant difference. It will take a miracle from another Ukrainian side to topple Shakhtar in the league this season which means manager Paulo Fonseca will no doubt concentrate on the Europa League – a competition which Shakhtar won with legendary manager Mircea Lucescu back in 2009.

Romanian Lucescu departed in the summer which means Fonseca has big boots to fill. However, if the Portuguese manager can lead Shakhtar to another European title then he will no doubt be shot up into the legendary bracket alongside Lucescu.

It goes without saying that Shakhtar are undefeated this season and so far they have only dropped four points in the league.

Although Gent will fancy their chances against Shakhtar thanks to their own good home form. Shakhtar’s away form is similarly impressive and The Miners last lost a league match on the road back in March.

However, Shakhtar’s form is not limited to the domestic league and they were incredibly impressive in the Europa League last season where they reached the semi-final stage before being knocked-out by eventual winners Sevilla. The Ukrainians will be looking to go one step further this time.

Apart from that loss to Sevilla, Shakhtar last suffered defeat on the road in the Europa League back in 2010 when they lost 2-1 to Fulham at Craven Cottage – although it must be said that they have played a significant amount of Champions League football since.

For me there is only one winner here and that is Shakhtar. A team of their capabilities should be coming through this tie easily, no matter how good Gent’s home form is, and I find it astonishing that the bookies are offering odds-against on this result. Although the price is not the biggest at 21/20, you will not get many better chances to take such odds about a Shakhtar win, so this is a good opportunity.

Under former manager Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar had a reputation of taking the best players from South America, particularly Brazil, and developing them before selling them on for a huge profit – Manchester City’s Fernandinho and Chelsea’s Willian are fine examples of this.

One of the South American players impressing for Shakhtar right now is Argentine Facundo Ferreyra and the 25-year-old is one of the top scorers in both the Ukrainian and Europa League right now. Additionally, he has had five shots in the Europa League so far with all of them being on target – he clearly knows where the goal is.

Having found the back of the net in the 5-0 thrashing of Gent in his last Europa League match, I would back him to do the same again on Thursday at a ridiculously good price of 2/1.

See more tips here.