Gent are heading into the match on the back of a narrow 1-0 win over Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League on Sunday, while the visitors suffered a 1-0 Turkish Super Lig-defeat to Alanyaspor, two days earlier.
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Gent will host Istanbul Basaksehir in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League last-16 tie at Ghelamco Arena on Thursday night. After finishing second in the Conference League Group F, the hosts had to go through the playoff tie, where they overcame Qarabag, to reach this far in the competition. Basaksehir, meanwhile, secured top spot in their group to earn direct qualification to the last-16 stage of Europe’s third tier tournament. Gent are heading into the match on the back of a narrow 1-0 win over Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League on Sunday, while the visitors suffered a 1-0 Turkish Super Lig-defeat to Alanyaspor, two days earlier.
⚽ MAÇ GÜNÜ | #GENTvIBFK
🆚 KAA Gent
📍 https://t.co/Y1j0MfnQhS
🏆 UEFA Konferans Ligi Son 16 Turu
🕚 23.00 (TSİ) pic.twitter.com/pTqHeWxPc2— İstanbul Başakşehir (@ibfk2014) March 9, 2023
Gift Orban’s lone goal in the second leg against Qarabag at home forced the game into penalties where Gent prevailed 5-3. After that, the Buffaloes were beaten 2-0 by Club Brugge in the Belgian top flight, before getting back to winning ways against Anderlecht, thanks to Orban’s lone goal in the second half. The Nigerian striker has now scored four goals in six games since joining from Staebek in January. Gent are currently occupying fifth spot in the Belgian Pro League table, having collected 45 points from 28 games, just one point behind the top-four.
Basaksehir, on the other hand, returned to competitive action last week following the four-week disruption to the Super Lig because of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 5. The Grey Owls were beaten 1-0 on their return to action on Friday. As of now, the 2019-20 Turkish champions are sitting at the fifth position in the standings, 17 points adrift of the top. Meanwhile, they were excellent in the Conference League group-stage, recording four wins, one draw and one defeat to collect 13 points, level with second-placed Fiorentina, but separated by goal-difference.
Gent Probable line-up: Roef, Samoise, Piatkowski, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Torunarigha, Fortuna, Kums, De Sart, Hong, Cuypers, Orban
Istanbul Basaksehir Probable line-up: Babacan, Sahiner, Leo Duarte, Touba, Caner, Biglia, Karvez, Turuc, Januzaj, Okaka, Gurler
Gent
| Opponents | Score |
| Anderlecht | 1-0 (W) |
| Club Brugge | 2-0 (L) |
| Qarabag | 1(5)-(3)0 (W) |
| Leuven | 2-0 (W) |
| Qarabag | 1-0 (L) |
Istanbul Basaksehir
| Opponents | Score |
| Alanyaspor | 1-0 (L) |
| Goztepe | 0-0 (D) |
| Kayserispor | 1-0 (L) |
| Konyaspor | 2-0 (W) |
| Kasimpasa | 1-3 (W) |
The UEFA Europa Conference League match between Gent and Istanbul Basaksehir will take place at Ghelamco Arena on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
| Gent vs Istanbul Basaksehir | Key Details |
| Date | March 9 (Belgium) |
| Venue | Ghelamco Arena |
| Kickoff time in Belgium | 9:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in Turkey | 11:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Friday) |
The live telecast of the Europa Conference League match between Gent and Istanbul Basaksehir can be seen on Sporza and Tipik in Belgium. Meanwhile, those in Turkey can catch the live action via Exxen.
