Gent fear massive West Ham but have two special talents and an intelligent coach Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri tells Hammers News.
After picking up two vital wins in a week to boost their Premier League survival chances, attentions now turn back to Europe for West Ham.
The Hammers face Belgian side Gent in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final this Thursday evening.
After seeing off AEK Larnaca 6-0 on aggregate in the last 16, West Ham are one of the favourites to win the competition having also made the semi-finals of the Europa League last season.
Standing in their way is Gent with the first leg in Belgium on Thursday before the second leg back at the London Stadium a week later.
To find out a bit more about our opponents Hammers News has spoken exclusively to the excellent Belgian football expert and journalist Sacha Tavolieri.
Gent fear massive West Ham but have two special talents and an intelligent coach Belgian journalist Tavolieri has told Hammers News ahead of the first leg.
Tavolieri says West Ham should be wary of rapid striker Gift Orban and brilliant defender Joseph Okumu.
And he has revealed how Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck will approach the clash with West Ham, which the Belgians feel they only have a 20 per cent chance of winning.
How was the draw against West Ham viewed in Gent?
It was viewed as something huge, something massive, so people are afraid of the opponent, West Ham is a big club and everybody knows that Gent is absolutely not the favourite in this fixture and it’s true that people are waiting for the match, they are excited.
They are expecting them to lose. They are fighting for fourth place in the league but in terms of strength, it’s not the biggest club of the league. So for them it’s seen as Gent will have a 20 per cent chance of getting past West Ham in the draw.
Tell us about Gift Orban, is it fair to say he is Gent’s best player and the main threat West Ham should be wary of?
Yes you are really right, Gift Orban is really the key player. He is a massive (threat) as a striker able to come also as a second striker to play with his quickness. Orban is fast, really quick.
He also has quality and is able to make a difference when he is in one on ones. He is a fighter able to transform a normal situation into a really dangerous situation when he is on the pitch by making or creating a goal. That’s why he is one of the biggest dangers for West Ham.
Are there any other players West Ham must watch out for?
I think the defence could be really interesting to show the central defender, Joseph Okumu, he is really good. He is a pretty beautiful player. He can start the build up from defence working with his teammates on the construction of the game. He is a good, good defender, West Ham should check his profile because he is really, really strong.
Given West Ham’s struggles in the Premier League this season is there a feeling in Belgium that Gent could beat the Hammers?
I think it’s a team really experienced on that kind of fixture. They can do the maximum and go on to take a big victory by beating West Ham in the first match. But (the worry would be) then in the second leg going on to lose and lose hard at West Ham, that’s going to be a problem. So they need really to play in an offensive way. I don’t know really if they have the quality to make that work and make things happen over the whole 90 minutes and two legs. They can be better than West Ham for 30 or 40 minutes of the game not more.
What formation/style do Gent play and is the manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck attacking or defensive minded?
To be honest he is an offensive type of coach but he is also really intelligent. So he will focus on how to make the difference, how to beat West Ham without losing his mind and his defensive spirit because he knows how to defend with a kind of Italian touch to his game.
We can see that Gent is a team that is really aggressive (pressing) on the players that get the ball during the match. So I think we will have a sort of counter pressing set in place so that they can take the ball really quickly and give it to Orban as he can make the difference. We are waiting for him to make the right choice in terms of individuals but also set in place a tactic that could face and do well against West Ham’s star players.
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