CS Fola Esch vs Genk Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Having suffered a severe beating in the away fixture, Fola, who come from Luxembourg, have it all to do when they welcome Belgian side Genk to Stade Émile Mayrisch on Wednesday evening.

Despite coming through their first task without conceding a goal, Fola, who’re yet to score a goal during this qualification campaign, were always likely to struggle in Belgium, and struggle they did. It was clear right from the word go that the team from Luxembourg were on their way to a heavy beating, as they were unable to withhold the pressure from their hosts. After Genk scored twice in the opening 19 minutes, there was no going back for the minnows, who play their football in front of a stadium built to hold just 3226 spectators.

Prior to that match, one might’ve thought that Fola could hold their own having kept a clean sheet both home and away in the previous round, though failing to concede against a Kosovan team is hardly impressive. As was evident last week, Thomas Klasen’s men simply lack the structure and the quality to compete defensively against a top-tier team from Belgium, and they’re likely to struggle once again, even though they’re now back on their own patch.

Wednesday’s hosts have avoided any heavy beatings on home soil when previously attempting to qualify for the Europa League, as they’ve conceded more than once in just two of their previous seven home qualifiers, though they’ve not exactly played against anyone as good as Genk. If the visitors decide to go for it on Wednesday, then the hosts could be in for another tough night.

From Genk’s perspective, the job is very much done. It’s highly unlikely that they’ll fail to go through from here, though it is possible that they’ll be less convincing than last week, simply because there’s no need for them to overly exert themselves. That said, the visitors ought to have more than enough quality to come out on top at Stade Émile Mayrisch.

With Genk being 5-0 to the good before a ball has been kicked in this second-leg, it’s reasonable to assume that manager Philippe Clement will choose to rest a few key players. What’s more, the visitors don’t exactly have a habit of scoring lots of goals on the road in qualifying for the Europa League. Genk have failed to score more than two goals in each of their last five UEL qualifiers on the road.

Even if they’re not at full strength, Genk should have more than enough quality to beat Fola for the second time in quick succession, though that fact that the tie is already over, coupled with their away scoring record in this competition, suggests that they may not repeat last week’s high-scoring antics. At the prices, backing ‘Genk to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’ stands out.