Union Saint-Gilloise v Sporting Charleroi

The first game of this Pro League weekend sees last season’s regular season champions Union Saint-Gilloise host the current league leaders in Sporting Charleroi. Union do look weaker than last season, and their first game saw them draw 1-1 with Sint-Truiden, which suggests they will be some way off the title this year, however I do expect them to be in and around the play-off spots.

The real challenge for Union is replacing Deniz Undav, last year’s player of the season who took home the golden boot with 25 goals, and to my mind their striker options are much less strong this time out. They are still a good side however, and they will still pose a tough test for any opponents.

Charleroi are top of the table following their 3-1 victory over Eupen, a strong performance which saw them pick up where they left off last season. They did have significant struggles against their fellow play-off sides last season, so to take the next step they will need to demonstrate they are able to take points from sides in the top-8.

Both sides have made signings since last weekend, with Union bringing in another striker, Gustaf Nilsson from the German third tier, another slightly underwhelming signing, but with a solid track record, scoring in his first appearance this season, and arriving with 19 goal involvements in 30 games last season. He is not likely to start straight away, but this means the club now have a back-up for their two strikers which was desperately needed.

Charleroi have brought in a striker also, with Algerian side Paradou selling striker Nadhir Banboualia, again likely to provide back-up to the two striking options already at the club, and at 22 years old there is plenty of time for him to grow with this side. He arrives off the back of a 63-game season, with 33 goal involvements, so there is definitely talent there, and now it is just a case of seeing whether he can make the step up.

Both sides have great attacking options, and I would back them to score more often than not. Charleroi have had the stronger start and will be hoping to lay down a marker in this game, but Union are still a good side and Charleroi’s shaky defence is always likely to concede. However this game ends up going, I expect goals on both sides here today.

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Cercle Brugge v Anderlecht

Saturday’s first Pro League action sees Anderlecht making the trip from the capital to Bruges to face Cercle. Cercle’s first game of the season got off to a disastrous start, with a 31^st minute red card essentially ending the game there. They had been poor before this however and being so convincingly outplayed by newly-promoted Westerlo must be setting off some alarm bells. It is still too early to draw any significant conclusions just yet, and I do have faith in Dominik Thalhammer to improve this side as the season goes on.

Anderlecht got off to a strong start under Felice Mazzu who has moved across the city from Union Saint-Gilloise. They even managed to get a goal out of on-loan Wolves striker Fabio Silva, which could prove to be a fantastic move for both parties if he continues to score consistently. The new manager’s 3-5-2 system does fit this squad very well, though the left side does look a bit questionable. If they can make some moves before the end of the window and strengthen this side, I do think they can push on towards a title challenge.

Cercle will be without the services of centre-back Boris Popovich following his red card at the weekend, and this will be a tough test for a side which has not got off to the best start. Anderlecht played really well on Sunday, against a side of similar strength to Cercle Brugge, and they will be looking to continue their strong start in their first away tie this season.

These are two sides with vastly different goals for the season, and anything other than an Anderlecht win would be a real surprise after the respective performances last season. It has been five years since Anderlecht lifted their record-extending 34^th Belgian league title, but the Purple and Whites look better placed now to challenge than ever before.

Cercle had a shock run up the table last season, and finished only two spots outside the play-offs, but they are more likely to be nearer the relegation zone than the play-offs this time around unless they can pull off another minor miracle. For the game today, I do expect Anderlecht to have another relatively comfortable win in this game.

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OH Leuven v Westerlo

Newly-promoted Westerlo got off to the best possible start in the Pro League, with a comfortable 2-0 win over Cercle Brugge, albeit helped by the sending off in the first-half. Even before this however, they were the better side and the signings they have made look well-suited to top-flight football.

Visitors Leuven also won 2-0 against Kortrijk, winning away from home in a composed performance, grinding out a result on the road and sealing it with a late goal. They struggled in the first half but after holding off the hosts came into their own second-half, and never looked like losing after grabbing the lead.

Leuven have been consistently mid-table since their promotion in 2020, finishing 11^th both seasons, but they have made plenty of moves already this transfer window, and the new additions seem to be gelling well with what was already a solid top-flight squad. Now could well be the time for them to make a push towards the top of the table.

Westerlo meanwhile are looking to consolidate their top-flight status, especially in this season where three teams will be going down, instead of the two that has been the case in the past couple of years. On first showing they look more than good enough to survive, but we do often see promoted teams start strongly and begin to fade away, so we will know more once we are a couple of months into the season.

Despite the promising start, I do think Leuven will prove to be a tough test for Westerlo, although I would not be enormously surprised if they were able to grab a point in their first away game. For that reason my pick here is for Leuven to either win or draw.

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Oostende v KV Mechelen

The second of two Saturday tea-time fixtures in Belgium’s Pro League sees two teams that both lost 2-0 last weekend. Oostende have been consistently mid-table, with the occasional foray into the play-off positions, but for my money I would expect them to remain in a similar position this year. Mechelen were one of the better Pro League sides last season, and though their play-off campaign did not go very well, they could well find themselves back there at the end of this season.

Mechelen were slightly unlucky to be beaten 2-0 by Antwerp, it was a close game and though Antwerp were the better side, that is to be expected. The real challenge for today’s visitors is replacing Hugo Cuypers, but if they can make do without his goals and creativity, they will be a play-off contender.

Oostende meanwhile were soundly beaten by Anderlecht, but again this is to be expected facing a side who will likely be challenging for the title. The real worry for Oostende is the defence, with the West Flanders side having been getting steadily worse at the back, and now facing this new season with an inexperienced set of cente-backs who all got very little game time last season.

Both sides have a significant number of injury concerns, missing four players each. Oostende have 3 midfielders missing, while Mechelen are missing both of their second strikers, along with 2 of their 3 left-backs. As it stands this should not impact them too greatly, but another injury in a key position for either side could really disrupt the opening of the season.

With both sides having injury worries, but with Mechelen having a stronger overall squad, and with Oostende’s shaky defence looking if anything worse than last season, I would expect Mechelen to win this one. They are likely to be weaker than last season, but they still finished comfortably above their hosts last season and are the better side. If they turn up, they should return to Mechelen with the three points.

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Gent v Sint-Truiden

The final Pro League game of Saturday sees last season’s Belgian Cup winners hosting their first game of the season, with Sint-Truiden the visitors. Gent opened the season with a 2-2 draw with Standard Liege. Despite a first-half red card for the hosts, and a dominant showing, they were unable to capitalise. They outshot their opponents by 18 shots, and it was only a great performance from Liege’s goalkeeper, Bodart that prevented them from winning comfortably.

Sint-Truiden also started off the season with a draw, finishing their opening game 1-1 after a competitive, even game against Union Saint-Gilloise. Sint-Truiden only just missed out on the play-offs last season, and they look to be even better this season, and if they can continue this upward trajectory, they should be comfortably in the play-off picture this season.

Although Union are not quite the side they were last season, this showing is extremely positive for Sint-Truiden, and if they can take points here too then they have navigated their way through a tough start to the season about as well as could be hoped.

Gent’s start to the season is quite out of character for them, conceding multiple times per game happened very rarely last season, and their defence is just as strong as last season, albeit with goalkeeper Sinan Bolat. Sint-Truiden also tended to have low-scoring games, so I would expect a return to normal from both sides.

Although Sint-Truiden are much improved, I do fancy Gent to really push for the top-4 this season, and after a shaky start and a Belgian Super Cup loss to Club Brugge, they do need to now kick on and get their season started. In front of their own fans at Ghelamco Arena for the first time in 2022/23, I see Gent taking the three points here.

The hosts created more xG than any other side in the division, with the addition of Hugo Cuypers alongside Tarik Tissoudali and either of Laurent Depoitre or Darko Lemajic looking to be perhaps the best front three in the league. They should have enough to beat Sint-Truiden if they can step up to the levels we would expect from them.

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