It has almost been forgotten that Westerlo played in the second division last year. In the defensively-minded Pro League, they are an enjoyable exception to the rule. Every week, Jonas De Roeck picks a team to go out and score goals, and it is paying off. The last 16 league games have seen Westerlo score at least once. Only league leaders Genk and second-placed Union have scored more this season.

The departure of first-choice striker Foster to Burnley has not yet had any impact on their goalscoring. Moreover, with the threat of Vetokele (who scored last time these sides met), Dorgeles (who scored last week) and second striker Vaesen will provide the speed that can hurt Gent’s defence.

Gent meanwhile can call on their new striker Orban for the first time. He was not yet eligible to play last week, but he is an excellent addition to the squad, having scored 16 goals in 22 games in Denmark this season.

With Cuypers and Depoitre failing to build a connection, it seems likely Orban will feature, most likely in place of the latter. The league leaders’ main concern however is defence. Ngadeu is not back to his best yet, and they are still unsure of his best centre-back partner. Although Gent have scored seven goals in three games, they only amounted to three points, mostly because of the spaces left open at the back.

The reverse fixture in August was 2-1 to Gent after a blistering first half with three goals. We expect both sides will continue their momentum and provide the goals.

League leaders Salzburg are back in Bundesliga action with a home fixture against eighth-place Lustenau, a side who started their campaign well, but plummeted before the long winter break, going 12 games without a win in all competitions.

Salzburg suffered one of their biggest domestic setbacks in the best part of half a decade last week, as they were eliminated in the Austrian Cup quarter-finals on penalties by Sturm Graz. Starting slowly in the new year has been a thorn in the side of this dominant team for a while now, and they’ll need to use this game to build momentum for the upcoming meeting with AS Roma.

Coach Matthias Jaissle will not want a repeat of their cup upset and will play a full-strength team as Salzburg aim to restore the winning habit as quickly as they can. New signings like the highly-rated Oscar Gloukh and the dependable Jerome Onguene should bolster an already talented squad for this game, and they should have no trouble getting a goal or two on the board.

Lustenau recorded a crucial win in their last game before the break to end a torrid barren run, but fittingly, their best player of 2022 Bryan Teixeira scored a brace in that match. He’s now departed to Sturm Graz over the winter, and Lustenau have not had a chance to replace him from elsewhere.

Losing your key creative presence is a big problem for anyone, but especially so for Lustenau who were leaning towards being dependent on Teixeira’s services. To make matters worse, starting defensive midfielder Pius Grabher will be suspended for this match.

Salzburg will want to get this sealed up early doors and then look to rest a few players for their next game, and we can imagine a clinical display will see them comfortably past Lustenau, even if they can’t match the 6-0 from the last meeting.

High-flying WSG make the long trip east to play Wolfsberger on Saturday afternoon, with the home team languishing in the bottom half of the table.

Wolfsberger AC were dumped out of the cup last weekend by Rapid Vienna, but they tested their opponents all the way until conceding a late equaliser and then two more in extra time. Despite that setback, Tai Baribo still looked very sharp up front, and strike partner Maurice Malone showed class with a beautiful goal which was ruled out for offside. There were many positives to take from the display, and Robin Dutt will be hopeful that his team can produce their best in the Bundesliga again.

WSG have been the surprise package of the season for many, digging out 7 wins in the Bundesliga so far. Selling top scorer Nik Prelec in the winter was good business, but with no new signings, they will need Tim Prica and Zan Rogelj to keep producing. Luckily for the Tyroleans, they were not a one-man team in front of goal.

Playing away could work against WSG Tirol, who might look like favourites based on the table alone, but going against a side who are already up to speed (having experienced 120 minutes of action in the cup) will be a tough task in their first competitive game of 2023 this weekend.

WSG have got results for a reason though, and up against a WAC side who have leaked 34 goals, we think they’ll be back on the scoreboard regardless of Prelec’s departure. Wolfsberg themselves look raring to go in the final third and struggle more with defensive duties, so both teams to score looks good here.