Last placed Seraing play host to the biggest club in the Liege region, Standard. This Walloon derby is important not only for the fans, but also for Seraing head coach Legros. Since his arrival in November he has not been able to push his side off the foot of the Pro League table, however, another win may be enough to lift them above Zulte-Waregem and Oostende.

Seraing have struggled as newcomers to the top-flight, avoiding relegation last year by the skin of their teeth, beating Molenbeek 1-0 on aggregate in the relegation play-off. The top flight is a league where physicality is important, and this is an area in which Seraing struggle. They have plenty of creativity in midfield but cannot often convert this into results.

They won last time out against fellow strugglers Oostende, 2-1, scoring with both shots on target. Following this result the club are just four points from the all-important 15th place, and safety. Striker Vagner scored his second goal of the season playing in a more central position, something we can expect to see again against Standard’s slow central defence pairing.

At Standard, scoring has also been an issue. The team is very inconsistent, beating top clubs one week and then losing to a relegation candidate the next. Up front there is quality, but players such as Zinckernagel and Perica can mentally ‘check-out’ of games and go missing. The latter did provide a crucial late equaliser last week against Sint-Truiden, but this is only his third goal of the season, far too few for the main striker for a side hoping for play-off success.

The reverse fixture saw Seraing run out 1-0 winners away from home, after a typical Walloon derby game which saw lots of duels, very little intricate passing moves and a tense atmosphere. We should expect little else here, especially with heavy rain likely to make Seraing’s already difficult surface even more difficult to play on.

Last weekend, Heerenveen lacked a bit of a cutting edge in their 0-0 draw with RKC Waalwijk. They are always solid defensively, which could prove tricky for AZ. The Frisians have the second best defensive record in league — conceding only 13 times in 15 games.

The Alkmaarders found it similarly difficult to break down Vitesse last weekend with a lack of invention. Jesper Karlsson, normally the star player for AZ, was disappointing, and AZ did not show enough to see out a narrow win after going ahead, ultimately going on to draw 1-1 with Vitesse.

On the other hand, a 4-1 win at Excelsior in Dutch Cup in midweek will have restored some confidence in front of goal, even if it was against a second-string Excelsior. What’s more, Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan bolstered Pascal Jansen’s squad after signing in the week. AZ should be more effective on the counter-attack if they concede some possession to Heerenveen.

With AZ not quite at their optimal level at the moment, I would back the hosts to score and provide a tough test. However, with AZ’s front four back amongst the goals on Wednesday, they will be confident of getting past a tight defence at least once.

Another team who are enjoying a fairly low-scoring run of form are Rio Ave, who sit eighth in the table upon their return to the top-flight under Luís Freire, level with fellow newly promoted side Chaves and Boavista on 20 points. Since losing 4-2 to Benfica on October 8, each of Rio Ave’s league matches have resulted in under 2.5 goals scored, with the club marking the return of the Primeira Liga with a 1-1 draw at home to Marítimo before drawing 0-0 at Vitória de Guimarães.

Several of their matches have resulted in under 1.5 goals scored such as an opening day defeat to Vizela, a win against Santa Clara to start October, victories against Portimonense, Boavista and Arouca and a 1-0 defeat to Casa Pia on October 30. They will be looking to continue that impressive defensive record as they take on a Paços de Ferreira side that is skating on thin ice right now.

César Peixoto replaced Jorge Simão as manager midway through last season and saved them from a looming relegation fight, securing an 11th-placed finish, but after taking two points from their first nine matches and losing to third-tier Vitória de Setúbal in the Taça de Portugal, he was dismissed from his post on October 16.

Club legend José Mota took charge but lasted just four league matches before being fired after a 3-0 defeat to Sporting to close out the year, with Peixoto returning to the Estádio da Mata Real and leading the Beavers to a 1-1 draw against Chaves, their first points in the league since October 2.

Paços have suffered a dismal start to the campaign with 3 points from 15 matches, boasting the league’s worst attack (8 goals scored) and the worst defence (30 goals conceded), and they’ll need to tighten things up at the back if they are to complete one of the most epic relegation escapes in Primeira Liga history. I’m expecting a low-scoring matchup in Vila de Conde between one side that is enjoying a smooth return to the top-flight, and another side that’s clinging on for dear life.

Despite another poor result for Alfred Schreuder, Ajax fans weren’t too disheartened by the performance at NEC. The hosts scored from a free-kick (when Ajax switched off), which was one of their only opportunities all game. Ajax were missing a few first-team players, but still created enough chances to have felt frustrated not to have won the match.

Twente were the only team in the top eight to gain three points last weekend. They comfortably beat lowly Emmen. Ajax are a totally different proposition, and Twente haven’t been as prolific when playing on the road, only winning twice from seven away matches in the Eredivisie thus far. Many Dutch football fans have tipped Twente to be a force in the title race after last weekend’s results, but I don’t see it because of their poor away form. In fact, both away victories have been quite close affairs, but at the same time, Twente haven’t been thrashed in these fixtures, either.

Let’s not take away from this fixture being a meeting between two of the league’s finest. Twente will put in a great performance; I don’t see them getting humbled. This will take a good display from Ajax to earn victory. It is possible that Twente take at least a point – I just think this is where Ajax step up at home. The margin of victory will be small, or we may well see Ron Jans’ men take an impressive point back to Enschede.

Since crashing out of the Taça da Liga quarterfinals in a 5-0 defeat at Sporting, Braga have responded by beating Benfica 3-0 at home – their first loss in all competitions under new manager Roger Schmidt – before opening 2023 with a 4-0 win at Santa Clara. They found themselves down 2-0 to local rivals Vitória de Guimarães going into the 80th minute before scoring three in the next five as a brace from Abel Ruíz and a wondergoal from Vitinha secured an improbable Dérbi do Minho victory, with Braga advancing to the next round and setting up a date with Benfica in the Taça de Portugal quarterfinals.

Apart from the defeat to Sporting on December 19, they have won all but two matches in domestic competitions since the start of October – a 1-0 loss to Chaves on October 19 and a 1-0 loss to Casa Pia on November 6. Artur Jorge’s side find themselves six points behind league leaders Benfica, one point above Porto, six above Sporting and seven above Casa Pia, and they will be taking on Paços de Ferreira, Sporting and Marítimo in the league before taking on Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League. Prior to doing so, however, they’ll be hosting 10th-placed Boavista on Saturday night.

The Axadrezados have tailed off after a strong start to the season, losing 4-0 to Famalicão to open October, drawing 1-1 to Marítimo, exiting the Taça de Portugal at the hands of fourth-tier Machico, losing to Vitória, Rio Ave and Porto and drawing 2-2 to Vizela, losing to second-tier Viseu in the Taça da Liga quarterfinals before beating Gil Vicente 1-0 on January 8. Yusupha Njie opened the scoring after a half-hour and Reggie Cannon received two yellows in the second half to cause a nervy final 22 minutes for Petit’s side.

The American defender will be a major loss for Boavista as they look to control a Braga side that has scored 36 goals in 15 matches this season, and I’m expecting Braga to come away with a fairly comfortable victory to remain six points behind Benfica or potentially closer if they fail to defeat Sporting. Boavista have not picked up a point away from home since beating 10-man Arouca 2-1 on September 11, and I highly doubt they’re going to be ending that streak in Braga.