Gent aims to qualify against Cherkasy, but that is still not a certainty. The first leg ended in a 0-0 draw. Rik De Mil is counting on a few things to complete the task. Over two matches, Gent should not miss out against Cherkasy, but in the first leg, the Ukrainians came out with a strong opening attack. A day before the return, Gent coach De Mil looked ahead. On the official channels, he expects another enthusiastic start from the opponent. By setting themselves up for this, Gent should be able to handle it well. "LNZ will again start with great intensity and put us under a lot of pressure. Because they often play one-on-one, there are also spaces in their back. It's up to us to create those spaces and attack at the right moment", De Mil judges. Gent worked on playing style and automatism. "This week, we specifically worked on this way of playing, but also on our interplay." So we come to the second aspect where he relies on completing the qualification: better automatism. "Some boys have only been playing together for a short time and such automatism requires time." Probably, KAA Gent will have to do without Wilfried Kanga. Het Laatste Nieuws knows that the striker was one of the few absent from the last training. Kanga still has a light foot injury and the chance is small that he will be fit for Thursday evening. Last season, Kanga was often the subject of criticism from supporters, now it is mainly his fitness that is a concern for the Gent staff. League standing (final 2025 table -- new season not yet under way): 5th in Jupiler Pro League, 24 pts, 13W-7D-12L from 32 games, recent form LDWWW. Goals this season: 51 scored, 47 conceded (+4 goal difference). Title race: 15 points behind leaders Union St. Gilloise. Next fixture: vs St. Truiden (away, 2027-02-13) (3rd in the table).