KAA Gent will face Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade on Wednesday, August 28, for a spot in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. This time, the match at Gent’s home ground will not be played behind closed doors, but fans of the Serbian team are still not allowed. Read all about this crucial match in this article.
Europa Conference League
The Conference League is an annual European football competition. It is the third most important competition in European football, after the Champions League and the Europa League. The Conference League has only been played since the 2021-2022 season. For both teams, this is already the fourth consecutive time they have participated in this competition.
These two teams have met only once before this year, in the first Conference League. In two matches, Gent managed to come out on top by a single goal. Gent also starts this match with a one-goal advantage.
KAA Gent
This football club was founded in 1900 and plays its home matches in the Planet Group Arena. Their club colors are blue and white, and they have been playing continuously in the top tier of Belgian football since 1989. Over the years, they have won the Belgian title once and the Belgian Cup four times. They also won the Belgian Supercup in the same year they claimed their title.
Last year, Gent finished at the top of the group in the Europe Play-offs, securing a place in the qualifiers for the Europa Conference League. Currently, after five matchdays in the Belgian league, Gent is in 11th place. So far, they have won two matches and lost two, with one match postponed. The Buffalos lost to Charleroi and Dender but won against Kortrijk and Westerlo.
Since June of this summer, Wouter Vrancken has been the head coach of KAA Gent, replacing Hein Vanhaezebrouck, who had been coaching Gent since 2020. Vrancken previously played for the club for two years and now steps up as the coach.
Last year, Tarik Tissoudali and Hugo Cuypers were the top scorers for Gent, with 21 and 17 goals respectively. Tissoudali left for the Greek league a month ago, where he now plays for PAOK Saloniki. Cuypers moved to the American league in February, joining Chicago Fire. Omri Gandelman, who scored 13 goals last season, is now the third top scorer and still plays for Gent.
Partizan Belgrade
This football club from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, was founded in 1945 as part of the Yugoslav sports federation. The club’s colors are black and white. It is one of the top two clubs in Serbia and the main rival of Red Star Belgrade. Although the derbies are primarily about good football, they are often marred by significant violence. Partizan has won 27 league titles, 19 within Yugoslavia and 8 within Serbia, as well as 16 Serbian Cups.
Last year, Partizan finished in second place, behind their fierce rival Red Star. The gap between the two teams after 37 matchdays was 18 points. Although they didn’t win the national championship, they were allowed to try their luck in the Champions League. However, they were eliminated by Dinamo Kiev in the second qualifying round, and Lugano proved too strong for the Serbians in the Europa League.
Aleksandar Stanojevic has been the head coach of Partizan Belgrade since the beginning of this season. He is a former Partizan player and has previously coached in Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Israel.
Last year, Matheus Saldanha was Partizan’s top scorer, with 18 goals in 34 matches. He will also be present for the Serbian team this year. Following him, Bibras Natcho scored the second-most goals, netting 12 in 44 matches. Earlier this summer, Samad Bazdar, a striker who scored 8 goals for Partizan, was sold to Zaragoza.
Why Are Supporters Not Allowed?
In recent years, Partizan Belgrade has faced multiple sanctions from UEFA due to violence or racism from their supporters in the stands. For example, their Champions League match against Kiev had to be played behind closed doors, and because the fans displayed discriminatory behavior again during the match against Lugano, Gent will also play without Serbian supporters.
Magic Betting Live
Want to make this match even more exciting? Check out the Magic Betting App or visit the website www.magicbetting.be for the best online sports betting. Be sure to check out the various promo offers. Take your chance and win!
