Cercle Brugge KSV vs St. Gallen prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-10-02 16:45.
[p]After a 14-year absence from the European stage, Cercle Brugge finally make a triumphant return to what is their first-ever appearance in a UEFA competition proper after coming through the UEFA Conference League play-off round. Following their fourth-placed finish in last season’s Belgian Pro League, Miron Muslic’s men have however started this term poorly and currently find themselves in the relegation group. [/p]
[p]The return of European football likely won’t do Cercle any favours as the fixtures pile up, although they are favourites here at home to St Gallen despite their recent patchy form. If the Belgian club’s previous European excursions provide any hint of what’s to come, then this could be a hard-fought affair, with four of their five home European games since the turn of the century having ended in a 1-0 scoreline either way (W3, L2). [/p]
[p]With ever so slightly more pedigree in Europe, Swiss outfit St Gallen make their first appearance in the main draw of a UEFA competition since finishing bottom of their Europa League group in 2013/14. A couple of failed qualification efforts since then led up to them navigating three preliminary ties this season ahead of the inaugural league phase, perhaps most notably knocking out Turkish side Trabzonspor in the play-off round.[/p]
[p]Those results contrast with St Gallen’s recent domestic form, as they make the trip north to Belgium having lost two of their previous three league matches. The Embroiderers couldn’t stitch together a win in their only previous pairing with Belgian opponents either, as they were knocked out over two legs by Cercle’s city rivals Club Brugge way back in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup (D1, L1). [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Alan Minda notched three direct goal contributions across Cercle’s two Conference League play-off matches (G1, A2), and even assisted on his return from injury domestically last week. As for St Gallen, Moustapha Cissé enters this clash with pedigree having picked up a Europa League winners’ medal with Atalanta last season, and has already scored two decisive goals since making the switch to Switzerland. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: St Gallen haven’t played out a goalless draw in an away game since December 2020. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]