On Thursday night, Valerenga host Gent at the Intility Arena in the Europa Conference League second qualifying round second leg.
The first leg in Belgium resulted in a 4-0 win for Gent, so the home side faces a mammoth task to get back into the tie.
Valse start, but we keep going 🔜 #valgnt #gntbee #NieNeuteNiePleuje📺 FULL RECAP⎢https://t.co/CmU4vZm2Lp pic.twitter.com/RmCsuMHc5k— KAA Gent (@KAAGent) July 27, 2021
Valse start, but we keep going 🔜 #valgnt #gntbee #NieNeuteNiePleuje📺 FULL RECAP⎢https://t.co/CmU4vZm2Lp pic.twitter.com/RmCsuMHc5k
Valerenga have made a mixed start to their domestic campaign, as they have taken just 21 points from their opening 14 matches. They are still just a few points of those prestigious European spots though, so all is not yet lost for the team from Norway’s capital.
With the Europa Conference League in its inaugural campaign, the 4-0 defeat in the first leg of the tie was their first-ever game in the competition. The Norwegian team have not featured in European competition since season 2011/12 when they suffered a 5-0 aggregate defeat against Greek team PAOK in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
Gent kicked off their domestic campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Sint-Truiden. The loss was a big blow after their 4-0 hammering of Thursday night’s opponents in their previous outing.
The visitors have a bit more recent history in European competitions than their Norwegian opponents. They suffered a 5-1 aggregate defeat against Dynamo Kiev in the first qualifying round of the Champions League last season.
They then dropped into the Europa League group stages, where they failed to get out of a group comprising the likes of Red Star Belgrade, Hoffenheim and Liberec.
However, they did make the last 16 of the Champions League back in season 2015/16, while also making the same stage of the Europa League the following season.
Forebet predicts that Gent will record another victory in a high-scoring encounter to coast into the third qualifying round of the competition.