West Ham vs Gent Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups
Thursday, April 20, 2023
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When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg between West Ham and Gent.
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West Ham and Gent meet in their UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg on Thursday 20 April.
West Ham vs Gent at a glance
When: Thursday 20 April (21:00 CET kick-off)
Where: London Stadium, London
What: UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg (first leg 1-1)
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Winners face Anderlecht or AZ in the semi-finals, playing the home leg first
Where to watch West Ham vs Gent
Fans can find their local UEFA Europa Conference League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Gent ended West Ham's ten-game European winning streak in the first leg, and David Moyes' side could count themselves lucky after the Belgian side's strike pairing of Hugo Cuypers and Gift Orban stretched them in an uncomfortable second half.
The Hammers can draw comfort from having won all five of their home games in this season's Europa Conference League, but they may not have come up against opponents as lively as this Gent side during that run.
Predicted line-ups
West Ham: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Rice, Downes, Lucas Paquetá; Bowen, Ings, Benrahma
Misses next match if booked: Coufal, Downes, Mubama
Suspended: Ogbonna
Gent: Roef; Castro-Montes, Piątkowski, Okumu, Torunarigha; Hong, Kums, De Sart, Fofana; Cuypers; Orban
Misses next match if booked: Cuypers, De Sart, Marreh, Núrio Fortuna, Torunarigha
Suspended: None
Form guide
West Ham
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DDWLWW
Where they stand: 15th in English Premier League
Gent
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DDDWWW
Where they stand: 4th in Belgian First League
Expert prediction
West Ham's serene progress in Europe this season (W10 D1 L0) has been in stark contrast to their domestic troubles, but for once they will come into a match on the back of an impressive performance after battling back from 2-0 down to hold Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
It could be a timely fillip ahead of what is shaping up to be their toughest test yet in the Europa Conference League. Gent had the better of the sides' first meeting, and their in-form strike pair will provide a challenge to a West Ham defence shorn of the suspended Angelo Ogbonna.
What the coaches say
David Moyes, West Ham manager: "The performance [in the 2-2 weekend draw against Arsenal] gave everyone a lift. [This game] gives a great chance of trying to qualify for the semi-finals. Expectations are so high here now because of what we've done over the last two seasons. A manager's job is to raise expectations. Isn't that great that West Ham are favourites."
Hein Vanhaezebrouck, Gent coach: "This is not our most important match this season, at least I hope not. If we push through, the semi-finals will be the most important.
"West Ham's goal last week was the result of several players making a mistake. If we are eliminated now, maybe even after penalties, we will look back on that first leg with regret."
What happens next?
The winners advance to the semi-finals where they will face the victors of the Anderlecht vs AZ Alkmaar tie.
The Eden Arena in Prague, Czechia (pictured above) will host this season's Europa Conference League final on 7 June 2023.