Kenyan international Joseph Okumu is set to make his second consecutive appearance in the 2022/2023 Uefa Europa Conference League after he was included in the 23 man KAA Gent squad set to face Irish side Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night by head coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck.In making the squad, Okumu is expected to be thrusted back to the starting eleven after missing Gent’s league match over the weekend following a red card suspension.🆕 Owusu, Hjulsager & Nurio are back in business 👀 #gntrov #uecl pic.twitter.com/ma27pEXB5I— KAA Gent (@KAAGent) September 14, 2022 In their first group match of the campaign, where Okumu played for the full minutes, Gent battled to a tough 0-0 draw against Norwegian side Molde and will be looking to take advantage of playing their second game in front of their home fans at the Ghelamco Arena.Ahead of the game, the head coach has backed his side to use that home ground advantage and get the job done when they welcome their opponents.##NAJAVA_MECA_6643007##“Shamrock Rovers is certainly not a weak team in the group. They are a side that play really good technical football and they have some really good players as well. It will certainly not be easy, but we play at home and you have to win those matches,” he said.The match kicks off at 1945EAT.
Elsewhere, Linton Maina, who was born to a Kenyan father and a German mother, will also be in action in the Europa Conference League when his FC Koln side welcome Czech Republic side Slovacko.Just like Gent, Maina and Koln started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against French side Nice last week and will be keen to get their first win of the campaign.It’s Matchday! 🔥 Flutlicht, Wohnzimmer, Europapokal ✨🤩 Wo verfolgt ihr die Partie, #effzeh-Fans? 📺 Live auf RTL+ und bei MagentaTV📻 Live im FC-Radio📱 Im FC-Liveticker___#ReturnOfTheGoat #KOESLO pic.twitter.com/YN3bsifshJ— 1. FC Köln (@fckoeln) September 15, 2022