Callum Goodall & Jack Elderton –
Though their Premier League form has been far below expectations this season, West Ham have an impressive record to maintain when they face KAA Gent on Thursday night having won every game they’ve played in the UEFA Europa Conference League so far.
In contrast to the Hammers, De Buffalos (a nickname Gent adopted after a visit from the original Buffalo Bill in the early 1900s) will be coming into the game full of confidence, having scored 19 goals in their last five games, including a 4-1 away win over İstanbul Başakşehir in the Round of 16.
West Ham made relatively light work of the Belgian Pro League’s current league leaders, KRC Genk, last season, and given that Gent are currently 4th, some fans will be expecting this to be a formality. In Hein Vanhaezebrouck and Gift Orban though, the East Flanders outfit have one of the most tactically interesting coaches in Belgium, as well as the most in-form attackers in Europe bar Erling Haaland.
This article will take a look at what West Ham can expect from Gent and how they might be able to advance to the semi-finals…
Tactical Analysis
In possession
As alluded to above, Vanhaezebrouck plays a very distinct brand of football, a style that Gent were already more than familiar with when they appointed him back in December 2020. How? Because he was the mastermind behind the club’s only ever Belgian First Division title back in 2014-15, a season in which they also won their first (and only) Belgian Super Cup.
Though Vanhaezebrouck hasn’t had quite the same level of success since his return, he does have a superior win percentage (50.72% > 48.8%) and he has got Gent playing some of the best football in the league. The Belgian coach is renowned for his commitment to a high-tempo, attacking game, and this philosophy has been actualised on the pitch this season with Gent averaging an impressive 1.8 goals per 90, making them the third most potent attack in the league.
The foundation of this free-scoring (78 goals in 46 games in all competitions this season) attacking system is its structure, a 3-4-1-2 that allows them to create numerical superiorities in central areas which in turn facilitates the short, sharp passing game that they want to play. So far this season, Gent have averaged 14.8 passes per minute of possession, the highest passing rate in the league, whilst averaging the fewest dribbles (23.7) per 90 of any top-eight side.
Though best categorised as a passing side, they are not your typical possession-dominant team, preferring instead to get the ball forward at every available opportunity. Gent lead the league in progressive passes (77.1) and passes into the final third (56.7) per 90, despite not having the highest share of possession (54.3 = 4th); three Gent midfielders rank in the top four for the latter of the two passing metrics – Julien De Sart (1st – 11.3), Sven Kums (3rd – 10.8), and Vadis Odjija-Ofoe (4th – 10.6).
Similarly, progressive centre-backs like Joseph Okumu (12.7 progressive passes per 90 = league-leading) and Jordan Torunarigha (1.8 progressive runs per 90 = 3rd most) are integral to their style of play as their comfortability in possession allows Gent to play out from the back. This is made easier by ensuring that the ball carrier has several passing options, short and long, at all times while the wing-backs hold the width, spreading the opposition and opening up pockets of space to receive in.
The positional fluidity of their number 10 in particular can cause real problems for the opposition defence who, in attempting to track their movement, can expose themselves to runs in behind – Daichi Kamada, anyone? Finally, the link-up between the attacking trio (two strikers and their number 10) is integral to their potency in front of goal – the three of them tend to stay very close together, relying on sharp one-twos and instinctive, almost telepathic movement to get in behind.
Out of possession
When defending, Gent tend to drop into a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 depending on the opposition’s formation, though they have shown a willingness to deploy a more compact 5-3-2 when necessary. Whilst the off-ball structure is open to variance, their commitment to an aggressive press remains constant; Gent are one of the most aggressive defensive sides in the Belgian First Division, with a challenge intensity (duels, tackles, and interceptions per minute of opposition possession) of 6.4 (4th), and a PPDA (the number of opposition passes per defensive action) of 8.87 (3rd).
In this respect, their front three are almost as important out of possession as they are with the ball, as it is the two strikers and the number 10 that are tasked with leading the press, with a real emphasis on harrying the opposition centre-backs and defensive midfielder(s) in the build-up phase. Working in tandem with the second line of defence (the midfield), who block off passing lanes and receivers in central areas, the aim is to force the opposition out wide.
If they succeed in driving the opposition out to the flanks, this triggers another press, with the defensive unit moving as one to trap the ball-carrier out wide, using the touchline as an extra defender in an attempt to force a turnover and spark a counter-attack. Often, they will look to outnumber and overwhelm the opposition by over-committing to a press (e.g., 2v1s and 4v2s), and though this can be effective, it does also mean that there are opportunities for unmarked players to receive the ball in space if the player under pressure can evade the press with a pass or a carry.
Further back, once the press has been bypassed and/or the opposition has made their way into the final third, Vanhaezebrouck prides himself on a very compact defensive unit. In this phase of defence, the number 10 tends to drop in to split the two central midfielders, creating a solid 5-3-2 that gives them an extra body in the middle of the park. This allows them to successfully execute their modus operandi – congest the central areas, funnel attacks out wide, and defend the box.
This compact, well-drilled defensive unit moves in unison as the ball is moved from side to side in front of them, preventing gaps from opening up in their defensive structure. Eventually, if executed effectively, the opposition will be forced into one of two options, a) cross the ball into the box, or b) take a low-value shot from range. The latter speaks for itself, and the former is fine because they have three centre-backs that are very comfortable in the air – Jordan Torunarigha has won 75% of the aerial duels he has contested inside his box this season, and Michael Ngadeu has won 68.4%.
Ultimately, the cumulative effects of Vanhaezebrouck’s out of possession approach has resulted in Gent having one of the best defences in Belgium this season, ranking third-best for both xG against (36.23; 1.13 per 90) and xG per shot against (0.124), a measure for shot quality.
How Could West Ham Set Up?
West Ham have had trouble playing through highly engaged pressing teams under David Moyes but Gent’s willingness to commit their wing-backs high and narrow could end up playing into the Hammers’ hands. In Michail Antonio, Moyes has a striker who is already comfortable drifting to the left side to receive long passes and his relationship with Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals could prove to be key in this fixture.
When looking at how West Ham might be able to exploit Gent’s shape, one of the first things Moyes’ side will have to confront is their backline shape in initial build-up. Moyes has often been reluctant to use his goalkeeper as a key player in build-up but drawing Vanhaezebrouck’s team forward as much as possible will surely be crucial to West Ham’s potential success. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a revolution in fluid shorter build-up under pressure so baiting the press to play direct balls into the forwards could be a more realistic way to play through.
As such, splitting the centre-backs deep and wide and using the goalkeeper as a “third centre-back” in build-up would be crucial to drawing Gent’s forwards in. If the six and box-to-box midfielder could both present deeper and bait Hong (+ forward momentum from Gent’s right-central-midfielder) then the space would open up to play direct from the keeper to the left flank.
Effectively, I’m proposing the same movements that West Ham have run on counter-attacks for years under Moyes – Antonio pulls wide and receives to play back to Fornals while Jarrod Bowen surges through in the right half-space – except, to overload Gent’s three in the backline, I’m suggesting that Maxwel Cornet joins that forward unit to rotate with Antonio and make central runs into the vacated space. This would give Fornals two runners to hit and leave Gent’s last line outmatched.
The idea here is to create space in two key areas: Behind the right-central midfielder and between the central-centre-back and the left-centre-back.
Ultimately, with Gent’s intent to press against this proposed shape, Vanhaezebrouck’s side would be forced to either concede the deeper space to play from the keeper into the full-backs or the space outside the lateral centre-backs.
Ones to Watch
Gift Orban
When the 20-year-old Nigerian joined Gent from Stabæk Fotball on January Deadline Day for €3.3m, nobody would have expected him to maintain the level of form (19 goals and 4 assists in 24 games; 1.09 goal contributions per 90) he had exhibited in Norway. In the 12 games that have passed since then, Orban has netted 14 times, scoring at a freakish rate of 1.23 goals per 90; for context, Erling Haaland has averaged 1.31 goals per 90 for Manchester City this season.
His ball-striking ability is particularly noteworthy, with a whopping 68.4% of his shots finding the target, and for someone so young he has already shown that he has a variety of goals in his repertoire: including long-range efforts; direct free-kicks; goals where he has rounded the keeper; curled efforts into the top corner, and tidy finishes with both feet inside the six-yard box. Throw his blistering pace, intelligent off-ball movement, and dogged tenacity into the mix and it is clear that he could cause West Ham’s rear guard some real issues.
Hugo Cuypers
You would be forgiven for assuming that Gift Orban, based on his incredible form, was Gent’s top goalscorer, but that isn’t the case. Hugo Cuypers has netted 23 times this campaign, including 19 in the league, putting him in the driver’s seat in the race for the Pro League’s Golden Boot. That said, if Orban had played the same number of minutes as Cuypers, then he would be on course for 48 goals – damn.
Cuypers has been integral to Gent’s impressive attacking form this season, not just in terms of the goals he has provided but also for the role he plays off the ball, dropping deep to help link midfield to attack, rotating with his teammates in the final third, and relentlessly pressing the opposition’s back line. In doing this, Cuypers is able to force high turnovers (2 per 90) and create gaps for the likes of Orban to attack; the relationship they have formed in the short time they have played together is impressive, something that West Ham ought to be well aware of.
Hong Hyun-seok
Another player whose movement West Ham will need to keep an eye on is 23-year-old South Korean attacking midfielder, Hong Hyun-seok. The Hammers’ heart-breaking defeat to Frankfurt in last season’s Europa League semi-final was largely down to the problems caused by their free-floating number 10, Daichi Kamada, whom West Ham’s midfield struggled to handle. The role that Hong plays for Gent is not hugely dissimilar to Kamada, so they will need to pay him special attention.
Alongside Cuypers and Orban, it is likely that Hong will make up Gent’s front three, whom we can expect to stick closely together as they press aggressively and create chances for one another. Of the three, Hong is the most creative, possessing the ability to make defence-splitting passes in the blink of an eye; five of his seven assists this season have been for Cuypers (3) and Orban (2), and the other two were for late-arriving central midfielders, runs that West Ham have struggled with previously.
Jordan Torunarigha
Given that Gent have one of the strongest defences in Belgium this season it would be remiss of us not to mention one of their three centre-backs, and though all are worthy contenders, Jordan Torunarigha is the one that stands out most. Cutting an imposing figure at 6’3”, the left-footed 25-year-old is crucial to how Vanhaezebrouck wants his side to play, both with and without the ball.
In build-up, his calmness under pressure, willingness to present himself as an option, and security in possession allow Gent to transition seamlessly out of defence and implement their vertical style of play. Though he is a more than competent passer, with 79.6% of his 22 forward passes per 90 finding their intended target, what stands out most is his willingness to burst out of the defensive line with the ball at his feet (2 progressive runs per 90) if there is no progressive passing angle for him to hit; in his most recent game against 2nd-placed Union Saint-Gilloise, he recorded three progressive runs.
This athleticism also enables Gent to defend from the front too, as Torunarigha’s recovery pace means that Gent can play a higher line than they would be able to with a slower centre-back. It is when Gent are defending their box in their solid 5-3-2 structure that he really stands out though, winning 71.8% of his aerial duels, 63.% of his defensive duels, and averaging 11 ball recoveries per 90. It’s unclear which version of Antonio West Ham will get if he starts, but one thing is for certain, and that is that Torunarigha will be up for the battle.
By Callum Goodall and Jack Elderton
