Preview: Genk vs Ferencvaros - prediction, team news, lineups

Belgian side Genk will welcome Ferencvaros in gameweek two of the UEFA Europa League at the Cegeka Arena on Thursday.

The home side got off to a good start in this season’s competition with a 1-0 victory over Rangers, while the visitors could only manage a draw in their first outing.

Match preview

Thorsten Fink’s team booked their place in the group phase of the 2025-26 Europa League after they got past Lech Poznan 6-3 on aggregate in the playoff round.

Genk will go into this match off the back of a two-game winning run across all competitions, following wins against Rangers in the Europa League and a 2-1 triumph over St Truiden in the Belgian top flight.

The hosts have had mixed results in the domestic season, with three victories, two draws, and four losses placing them ninth in the Jupiler Pro League.

Since the start of the season, the home side have had a good return in front of goal, recording 12 strikes in the league and one on the opening day of the group phase.

That said, their defensive record is nothing to write home about, having picked the ball out of their net on 16 occasions in the current campaign across all competitions.

Worse still, they are winless in their last four home fixtures in the league phase of the competition, losing three fixtures, along with a solitary draw in that time.

Meanwhile, Ferencvaros will go into this contest with a six-game unbeaten streak, which includes four wins and two draws in all competitions.

The visitors started their European adventure in the UEFA Champions League, but they failed to make it to the main tournament for the fifth consecutive season.

In their first fixture of the league stage, the Hungarians forced their opponents to a 1-1 draw, courtesy of a late goal from Aleksandar Pesic to rescue a point.

In the aftermath of that draw, the visitors claimed a 2-0 victory on the road against Gyor last weekend, a result which leaves them second in the standings with 14 points after seven league fixtures.

Heading into this contest, the away side are unbeaten in two fixtures against Thursday’s opponents, and that will give them some measure of confidence for this fixture.

Genk Europa League form:

Genk form (all competitions):

Ferencvaros Europa League form:

Ferencvaros form (all competitions):

Team News

As the encounter draws nearer, the home side have a depleted squad as a result of injuries to some key figures within the team.

Attacking midfielder Daan Heymans remains out with an ankle injury that has kept him out of action since the beginning of August.

Defender Yaimar Medina is currently recovering from a concussion, which leaves him under close medical observation.

Similarly, Yira Sor (knock) and Tobias Lawal (knee) are also expected to be left out of the manager’s plans for Thursday's fixture.

On the contrary, the away side have little or no injury worries, as Krisztian Lisztes is the only player who is likely to miss out as a result of a muscular issue.

Other than Lisztes, Robbie Keane has a plethora of options to select his starting XI for this encounter.

Genk possible starting lineup:

Van Crombrugge; El Ouahdi, Sadick, Smets, Nkuba; Sattlberger, Heynen; Ito, Hrosovsky, Adedeji-Sternberg; Erabi

Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; Gartenmann, Raemaekers, Szalai; Cadu, Otvos, Kanichowsky, Nagy; Gruber, Levi; Pesic