Slovan Liberec vs KAA Gent – Prediction (Europa League – 22.10.2020)

Preview and Teams Comparison.

Liberec’s Michael Rabušic has scored both his UEL qualifying goals beyond the 80th minute this season. Roman Yaremchuk has been Gent’s first scorer in both his scoring games from last season’s UEL group stage (three goals). Four of Liberec’s last six competitive matches have seen at least one penalty scored/conceded, whilst three of their last four competitive goals have been scored via penalties.

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Slovan Liberec Insights.

Three weeks of competitive inaction (due to Covid-19 restrictions) could be Slovan Liberec’s biggest concern ahead of their UEFA Europa League (UEL) Group L opener. Liberec’s first ever match against Belgian opposition will see them attempt to extend the 85.71% unbeaten run (W5, D1, L1) which they enjoyed before the break. Any goal attempts will likely arrive late, as Liberec failed to score before HT in five of those seven, with five of their 14 goals arriving beyond the 80th minute. This is Liberec’s first UEL group stage appearance since 2016/17 when they finished bottom (W1, D1, L4), although they did at least score in four of the matches. Conceding 2+ goals, and in both halves in five of those six matches, ultimately doomed Liberec’s play-off chances.

Gent Insights.

Gent are in the midst of wretched form, losing four of their last five competitive matches (W1, L4) whilst conceding in both halves in all four losses. Nonetheless, Gent have averaged 4.80 total goals per match during this sequence, with three games producing over 4.5 goals. Gent’s UEL form is pristine, though, losing just one of their last 12 UEL matches (W5, D6, L1). Scoring first remains vital as Gent were unbeaten while doing so (W3, D4), although conceding first didn’t weaken their retrieval rate (W2, D1, L1). Away games in that aforementioned UEL sequence saw Gent lose just once (W1, D4, L1), whilst conceding exactly once in five matches. Contrary to their current form, five of those six UEL away games produced under 1.5 total goals with three finishing 1-1.

Match Info and Live Scores.