Leuven vs Gent Prediction: A close contest to end in favor of the visitors

During the seventh round of the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, Leuven will play host to Gent at Den Dreef. The most recent match included an unexpected victory for the home team over Kortrijk, while the visiting team from Gent scored a victory at home against Club Brugge before the international break.

Leuven's goal in this match will be to achieve the same outcome as their 3-0 victory over Kortrijk in the First Division A. During that game, Leuven had 47% possession of the ball and 20 shots on goal, with 9 of those shots hitting the target. Federico Ricca scored for Leuven in the 40th minute, Jol Schingtienne scored in the 54th minute, and Youssef Maziz scored in the 59th minute of the game. Kortrijk, the team that they were playing against, had 13 shots on goal, seven of which were on target. Recent games involving Leuven have consistently been high-scoring and exciting affairs, with several goals being scored on a regular basis. Over the course of their previous six meetings, a combined total of 20 goals have been scored by both teams, which works out to an average of 3.33 goals per game, with Leuven being responsible for 8 of those goals. When looking at their historical performance, it is clear that Leuven have not been victorious in any of their most recent five league matches against Gent.

As a result of their victory over Club Brugge in their most recent match, Gent will come into this match with a winning record in the First Division A. During that match, Gent held a 41% possession advantage and had 14 shots on goal, with 4 of those shots landing in the target area. Hyeon-Seok Hong was the only player on the Gent team to score, and he did it in the 25th and 49th minutes. The 14 shots that were sent at the goal for Club Brugge resulted in 7 of them being successful. The lone goal for Club Brugge was scored by Hans Vanaken in the 43rd minute of play. There have been at least three goals scored in each of the last five matches that Gent has participated in (out of a total of six). During that stretch, the number of goals scored each game on average is 3.17, and the number of goals scored by Gent on average is equal to 1.5.

Leuven and Gent have faced each other 19 times over the course of the previous three seasons, with Leuven winning one game and Gent winning 12 games. There were a total of six games that were decided by a draw. In the head-to-head matchups between the two teams, Leuven scored 13 goals, while Gent managed to score 44.

Both sides are riding high after recent victories and are looking to extend their winning streaks, so this should prove to be one of the more interesting matchups of the week. As of right now, Gent are on top of the standings; however, all that is required to keep things going is a win, and knowing that they are facing up against an inconsistent team like Leuven, the home team will seek to take advantage of this situation. As a result, I anticipate a very defensive approach from both teams here in an effort to avoid losing, and as a result, I will be placing a bet on a low number of goals being scored.