Gent welcome Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir to the Ghelamco Arena on Thursday for a Europa Conference League last 16 first leg.
The visitors progressed directly to the last 16 thanks to winning their group, while Gent have already had to see off Qarabag to reach this stage.
Match preview
© Reuters
After the slight disappointment of losing to Club Brugge last week, giving them their only win in six games, Gent returned to winning ways on Friday, beating fellow UECL contestants Anderlecht 1-0.
Gift Orban continued to excel up front as he netted the only goal in that success, which kept them in touch with the all important top four.
It was Orban who greatly helped them progress in Europe too, as his goal in the second leg against Qarabag ultimately forced a penalty shootout, in which the Belgians were victorious.
The Nigerian striker now has four goals in six games since joining from Staebek in January.
The win over Anderlecht marked a third win in four games for Gent, all of which saw them keep a clean sheet too.
That will be a welcome relief for manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck, after his side had conceded nine goals in three games in the build-up to their first leg defeat in Azerbaijan in the last round.
Their first leg defeat against Qarabag does mean they are winless in six away games in this competition, so anything but a win here could leave Gent in a perilous position going into the second leg next week.
This fixture will be Basaksehir's first in Europe since a routine home win over Hearts all the way back in early November.
© Reuters
The disruption to the Super Lig following the devastating earthquake in Turkey means they come into the tie even more underprepared too, having played only one competitive match in five weeks.
That came on Friday in a 1-0 defeat at Alanyaspor, meaning that the 2019-20 Turkish champions are now 17 points adrift of the top.
They were excellent in the group stage of this competition though, pipping Italian giants Fiorentina to top spot, a side who would go on to thrash European specialists Braga in the preliminary knockout round last month.
A 2-1 defeat in Florence was Basaksehir's only blemish during the group phase, but they still finished on 13 points to finish first, with a 3-0 win in the reverse tie against Fiorentina, and two wins over Hearts by an aggregate score of 7-1 being the notable highlights.
Team News
© Reuters
Gent have started to welcome back a number of players from injury who were absent for both legs against Qarabag.
Kamil Piatkowski, Matisse Samoise and Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe have all returned to the squad in the last week, and all could start here.
Orban's form in front of goal appears to have helped him nail down a regular starting spot in the side now, after only being a sub in the second leg versus Qarabag.
Julien De Sart was instrumental in their success in the previous round, and his partnership with the experienced Sven Kums in the centre of midfield could be pivotal here.
Darko Lemajic and Tarik Tissoudali remain the two players out injured for Gent.
Basaksehir will look to assimilate some new faces into the side following their January transfer window business.
Adnan Januzaj and Caner Erkin are among the experienced players who have arrived, and both have made their respective debuts recently.
Midfielder Eden Kartsev has become an instant regular in the side after his arrival from Israeli side Maccabi Netanya.
The club have lost a lot of the players who were utilised frequently during their group stage success though.
Youssouf Ndayishimiye was the biggest of those departures, joining Nice, while Junior Caicara, Bertrand Traore, Hasan Ali Kaldirim and Mounir Chouiar have all left the club too.
Gent possible starting lineup:
Roef; Samoise, Piatkowski, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Torunarigha, Fortuna; Kums, De Sart, Hong; Cuypers, Orban
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Sahiner, Leo Duarte, Touba, Caner; Biglia, Karzev, Turuc; Januzaj, Okaka, Gurler
We say: Gent 0-0 Istanbul Basaksehir
There is very little to split the sides coming into the game, as Basaksehir arguably have the better side on paper, but have struggled for form of late.
None of Gent's home matches in the Conference League this season has seen both teams score, and they have tightened up in defence recently, so goals may be at a premium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
