Read our prediction for Gent vs Rijeka below. This preview was written by a sport journalist who is specialised in betting tips and predictions. Use our betting tips for the match between Gent vs Rijeka and you can increase your winnings!
Gent vs Rijeka Prediction & Betting tips
In the fierce battle for participation in the Europa League, AA Gent only has to take a hurdle. The East Flemish will do everything on Thursday evening to put down a good result in their own Ghelamco Arena against the Croatian Rijeka.
AA Gent:
AA Gent has been busy this early season. The Buffalos already have four European games in their legs, in which they managed to eliminate the Romanian Viitorul (7-5 over two games) and the Cypriot AEK Larnaca (4-1 over two games). The Belgian Jupiler Pro League is now also four rounds of play. AA Gent has a somewhat volatile start with seven points, although KV Oostende won 2-0 last weekend. However, the field game was not always the best. “Our European match last Thursday was a bit in the legs,” said midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe. “We have a busy schedule, but that’s what we do it for.”
In the eyes of the bookmakers, AA Gent is the big favorite to qualify for the group stage of the Europa League at the expense of Rijeka, but the fact that some players are already complaining about tiredness naturally makes them think. AA Gent, just like Royal Antwerp and Club Brugge, is being catered for, because the game round of next weekend has been postponed. In addition, trainer Jess Thorup still has to tinker with his rear-guard, who still gets too many goals. The good news is that the young talents Jonathan David and Elisha Owusu are in blood form.
Rijeka:
Although Rijeka is not the most appealing European opponent, the Croats should not be underestimated. Barely two years ago, in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League both away and at home, they won 1-0 against PSV, which meant that they had to cope without European football for the first time in forty years. AA Gent is therefore warned!
In recent years, Rijeka has grown into one of the best teams in Croatia, and again this season the team of coach Igor Biscan has started energetically. After five rounds of play, Rijeka is on ten points, and in the previous preliminary round of the Europa League, the Scottish subtopper Aberdeen was simply put aside (4-0 over two games). Midfielder Robert Muric never managed to break through at Ajax, but is of course a very useful force in his home country. You may know Defender Ivan Tomecak from his periods at KV Mechelen, and players like Antonio Colak and Maxwell Acosty were active in the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A respectively in the past. All in all, the Croats have a very nice team, it is doing very well, especially at home. Outdoors, however, the results with just two wins from the last six away games are a lot less.