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Kilmarnock v Cercle Brugge
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Kick Off: Thursday 25th July at 19:30
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Competition: Europa League Qualifiers
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Watch Live: BBC Scotland
Kilmarnock host Belgian outfit Cercle Brugge in the second qualifying round of the Europa League on Thursday, which is their opening match of the season.
Derek McInnes’ side have not played European football since the 2019/20 season. On that occasion, they were left embarrassed by Connah’s Quay Nomads, whose 2-0 victory at Rugby Park saw the Welsh side progress 3-2 on aggregate.
Killie will be eager to make a more positive impression against the Belgians in what is just their second trip to continental football in more than 20 years.
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Kilmarnock v Cercle Brugge Best Bets
Kilmarnock are likely to be more competitive in this match than their price of 4.0 suggests. Backing the Killie with a +1 handicap priced at 1.91 with Paddy Power, therefore, looks tidy value.
Arguably a better bet, though, is for both teams to score priced at 1.65 with Betfair. The home side have plenty of attacking menace in their ranks and, buoyed by a sell-out crowd, should have the capacity to find the net at least once.
In terms of the goals market, Kevin Denkey to score anytime at 1.83 offers some value after his prolific 2023/24 campaign.
📂 Kilmarnock v Cercle Brugge Cheat Sheet
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You can find match stats for every televised game across Europe’s biggest leagues on my bet builder stats tool, along with official line-ups one hour before kick-off.
📊 Kilmarnock Form and Stats
Kilmarnock’s squad remains largely the same one that finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Following the departure of loanee Corrie Ndaba, the left-back area is one that looks a little weak for now, but with the squad augmented by the arrival of goalkeeper McCrorie and striker Bruce Anderson, McInnes’ side look in comparatively good shape to start the season.
Friendly results, too, have been positive. They have won three of their last four of these warm-up games, scoring 16 goals across these fixtures, which included a 5-0 win over Welsh champions TNS. Although the level of their opponents has been weak, these results will have brought confidence levels up.
New signing Anderson has scored four goals, including one hat-trick, and also hit the bar in a 3-2 loss against Ayr. Brad Lyons has scored in three of four fixtures, meanwhile. He is an enormous 8.5 to score anytime.
Last season’s leading scorers for Killie in the Premiership, Marley Watkins, and Kyle Vassell, have combined for just a single goal, albeit the latter has been struggling with a knee problem. McInnes says the striker and Liam Donnelly, who missed the most recent friendly, will be fit.
Vassell led Kilmarnock in shots per 90 in the Premiership last season with 2.48, ahead of penalty-taker Danny Armstrong, who had 2.09. Watkins, meanwhile, was Killie’s best when it came to getting shots on target per 90 at 0.91.
In the cards market, Robbie Deas is one to watch after picking up 11 yellows and one red in the Premiership last term, 0.49 cards per 90. He is liable to play left-back, a less comfortable position for him. Donnelly, who earned 0.43 cards per 90 last term, and Lyons, who picked up 0.37 per 90, are also worth monitoring.
📊 Cercle Brugge Form and Stats
Cercle Brugge have had just a handful of friendly matches to prepare themselves for this trip. They beat AEK 3-2 on July 6 and then followed that up with a 1-1 draw against sister club Monaco a week later. Last weekend, meanwhile, they lost 1-0 to Feyenoord in a match played over 120 minutes.
The Belgians went with a strong team against Monaco, who were understrength. Kevin Denkey scored their goal from the penalty spot.
Indeed, Denkey is overwhelmingly their dangerman. In the Belgian Pro League last season, he scored 27 goals. This was eight more than any other player in the whole league, underlining his importance to the team.
Alan Minda was next best on eight goals (plus seven assists). The Ecuador winger has not featured since playing in the Copa America, although he is expected to return for this encounter. Thibo Sommers, meanwhile, got seven and was the only other player to get more than five.
In versatile attacker Kazeem Olaigbe, Cercle do have a player who has experience in Scotland, with the 21-year-old having failed to net in 19 Premiership appearances with Ross County.
As well as having the league’s top scorer, Cercle also boasted the league’s top card collector last term. Hannes van der Bruggen picked up 12 cards.
Brugge picked up a total of 80 cards last season in Belgium’s top flight (77 yellows and three reds), which was the second-highest figure behind only USG.
Kilmarnock’s artificial pitch will be an additional complication for Cercle to handle, but they won 2-0 last season against Sint-Truiden, the only Belgian Pro League team to play on an entirely synthetic surface. That match was, however, close to a year ago and was their last competitive game on an artificial pitch.
⚔️ Kilmarnock v Cercle Brugge Head-to-Head
Kilmarnock have unsurprisingly never faced Cercel Brugge before.
Indeed, the home side’s squad is largely lacking in players with any notable European experience. The likes of centre-back Stuart Findlay and goalkeeper Robby McCrorie have a sprinkling of continental appearances in the past. Winger Gary Mackay-Steven has 20 outings in Europe in the past and will be a figure who will be expected to bring his know-how to this situation, even from the bench.
After finishing fourth in the Belgian Pro League, Cercle Brugge will play continental football for the first time since 2010. They have only won one tie ever in Europe, that against Finnish outfit Turun Palloseura at this stage of the Europa League 14 years ago.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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