Fresh off the back of reaching the playoff round of the Europa Conference League qualifiers, Gent play host to Westerlo at the Ghelamco Arena in round four of the Belgian Pro League on Sunday.
Having failed to win any of the last eight meetings between the two teams, De Kemphanen will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and make it four wins from four to start the campaign.
Match preview
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Gent booked their spot in the Conference League playoffs on Thursday as they picked up a pulsating 3-2 win over Silkeborg in extra time to complete a 5-4 aggregate victory over the Danish outfit.
Having held firm for a 2-2 first-leg draw in Denmark on August 8, goals from Max Dean and Omri Gandelman saw Gent come from behind twice at the Ghelamco Arena to take the tie to extra time, where Gandelman struck with two minutes left to play to hand the hosts a dramatic victory.
Head coach Wouter Vrancken will hope that their midweek triumph can serve as a catalyst for a fine run of form as they now turn their attention to the Pro League, where they have lost each of their last two games.
A second-half strike from Andri Gudjohnsen saw Gent scrap a 1-0 victory over Kortrijk in the season curtain-raiser on July 28, one week before were beaten 2-1 by newly-promoted Dender on home turf.
The Buffalos failed to bounce back last Sunday as they suffered a narrow 1-0 loss against Sporting Charleroi, with Daan Heymans netting in the 90th minute at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi to hand the hosts all three points.
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Elsewhere, Westerlo turned in a superb attacking display last time out as they picked up a thrilling 4-3 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise when the sides squared off at the Het Kuipje Stadium.
After falling behind to Kevin Rodriguez's fifth-minute opener, the hosts hit back with four straight goals courtesy of Dogucan Haspolat, Adedire Mebude, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh and Bryan Reynolds before Mohammed Fuseini and Promise David hit the target for Saint-Gilloise to reduce the deficit.
With that result, Westerlo have now won each of their opening three games, having kicked off the campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over Cercle Brugge on July 28, one week before beating Mechelen 4-2 at AFAS Stadion.
Timmy Simons will be delighted with his side's impressive start to the season, especially off the back of a forgettable 2023-24 campaign, where De Kemphanen finished rock bottom in the Conference League qualifying group after ending in 11th place in the regular season.
However, Westerlo will need to be at their best this weekend as they go up against an opposing side they have failed to get the better of in any of their last eight encounters, losing six and claiming two draws since a 6-2 friendly victory in June 2022.
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Team News
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Dean has racked up three goals and one assist in four matches in the Conference League qualifiers and the English striker, who completed a summer move from MK Dons, could make his Pro League debut this weekend.
Jordan Torunarigha made his return from the sidelines last week as he was handed a substitute appearance against Silkeborg and we expect the Nigerian defender to be involved on Sunday.
With his strike against Saint-Gilloise, Sayyadmanesh now has three goal involvements in the opening three games and the 23-year-old should retain his role in the Westerlo attack.
He should form the front three with Mebude and teenage striker Lucas Stassin, who has two goals and two assists already this season, while Haspolat and Arthur Piedfort team up at the centre of the park for the fourth consecutive game.
On the injury front, Westerlo remain without Australian forward Jordan Bos, who has missed the last two games after coming off injured in the season opener against Cercle Brugge on July 28.
Gent possible starting lineup:
Roef; Samoise, Watanabe, Mitrovic, Brown; Delorge; Yokota, Hong, Gandelman, Pardo; Gudjohnsen
Westerlo possible starting lineup:
Bolat; Reynolds, Vuskovic, Neustadter, Rommens; Haspolat, Piedfort, Mebude, Madsen, Sayyadmanesh; Stassin
We say: Gent 2-1 Westerlo
Buoyed by their midweek victory over Silkeborg, Gent will return to league action with sky-high confidence as they look to snap their two-game losing run. While Westerlo are currently firing on all cylinders, their record against the Buffalos offers little optimism, and we see them struggling this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
