Club Brugge v Genk
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Sunday 24th July – 12:30PM KO
Sunday’s Pro League action kicks off at the home of the champions, Club Brugge’s Jan Breydel Stadion. The dominant streak of the West Flanders side continued once again last season with a storming end to the season allowing today’s hosts to reel in Union Saint-Gilloise and secure the fourth title in five years for the club.
New manager Carl Hoefkens is under immediate pressure to continue the success, and as the club’s academy manager for the last few years, the hope is that the transition will be smooth. He will doubtless be very pleased with the club’s transfer business so far this summer. The only major outgoing is Bas Dost, who was admittedly the second-highest scoring Club Brugge player last season. However, I am excited to see how his replacement, 23 year-old Ferran Jutgla who provided 26 goal involvements in 32 appearances for Barcelona B last season fares.
Club Brugge have also secured the signings of another promising youngster in left-back Bjorn Meijer and some experience in Casper Nielsen for €4.95m, poached from last season’s title rivals RUSG, and Cyle Larin from Besiktas on a free transfer.
Opponents Genk were a play-off team last season, after finishing second to Club Brugge the year before, and looking all the way back to 2018/19, they were the last team to win the title before Club Brugge’s three-in-a-row. Unfortunately for the visitors, another title challenge does look beyond them again this year, with the squad seeming like it is standing still. They have lost midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt, going for €9m to Sassuolo, but they have not reinvested much of that money besides signing a replacement in 21 year-old Nicolas Castro from Newell’s in Argentina.
They will be a competitive side, and it is far from the easiest start to the season for the reigning Pro League champions, but they should have more than enough to defeat this Wouter Vrancken Genk side. Brugge were a cut above almost every other side in the country last season, and for my money they are even stronger this season. I am confident they will start their title defence with a relatively comfortable three points.
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Prediction: Club Brugge to Win, 1.75 on Betfair (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Mechelen v Antwerp
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Sunday 24th July – 3:00PM KO
With Wouter Vrancken making the move to Limburg to coach Genk, Mechelen have a new man in the dugout, Danny Buijs arrives at a side that has been a play-off team every year since their promotion in 2018/19. Mechelen have lost potentially their best player in Hugo Cuypers, the forward finished last season with 13 goals and 8 assists in 29 games, but they have made positive steps in the transfer market and should still be in and around the play-off spots this year despite this.
A plethora of young attacking talent freshens up their forward line and if they can settle quickly look like they could be a real threat this season. They have also added Dimitri Lavalee at centre-back to add a bit more steel to their defence. They were amongst the highest-scoring sides in the Pro League last season, but still managed to finish with a negative goal difference. Only three sides in the entire division conceded more than the 61 goals Mechelen shipped last season, so tightening up at the back is crucial to stand any chance of progressing further up the table and maybe snagging a spot in Europe for 2023/24.
Also arriving with a new manager are visitors Antwerp, with Mark Van Bommel now in charge following an unsuccessful spell at Wolfsburg. The Reds looked like genuine title contenders for the Pro League crown for much of 2022, but a late-season collapse and an embarrassing showing in the play-offs was enough for the owners to make the change.
Top scorer Michael Frey was only 3 goals off the Golden Boot last season, and he can reach those heights once again, they will surely be in amongst the contenders for the title. They have made some interesting moves, signing Toby Alderweireld from Saudi Arabia’s al-Duhail, and fellow former Spurs man Vincent Janssen from Monterrey in Mexico. The signing of versatile young midfielder Christopher Scott from Bayern Munich has a lot of potential, but at 20 years old I doubt he will be starting every week for the time being.
Antwerp have now finished in the top 4 spots in the Pro League for four straight seasons, and they will be hoping this is the year they can break through and really push Club Brugge for the title.
This game is a difficult one to call, not yet knowing how well these new signings are going to settle in, but I would anticipate goals in this game. Mechelen have done little to address their defensive issues, but their attacking talent means they are more likely than not to score in the majority of games they will play. For that reason I am backing both sides to score in this fixture.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.47 on Betfair (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Anderlecht v Oostende
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Sunday 24th July – 5:30PM KO
Yet another side with a new manager is Anderlecht, where former manager Vincent Kompany is now back in England with Burnley. New man Felice Mazzu has made the short trip across town from city rivals Union Saint-Gilloise, fresh from missing out on the Pro League title by just three points last season. After taking a promoted side to within a couple of games of being Belgian champions, he looks to be the right man to push Belgium’s most successful club back to the top after a drought of 5 years.
However, Anderlecht’s extensive use of the loan market may come back to bite them this year, with many of last season’s top performers having departed to return to their parent clubs. This includes Josh Cullen, who started every game last season and has followed former manager Kompany to Burnley; Joshua Zirkee, the club’s top scorer and second on the assist charts last season has gone back to Bayern Munich and Lisandro Magallan, who started more games at centre-back than anyone but Wesley Hoedt.
They have signed a variety of options for the striker position, including Wolves youngster Fabio Silva, but after two seasons of failing to score in the Premier League, whether or not he can step up and score the goals needed for a title challenge remains to be seen. There is also a big lack of experience at centre-back, so Mazzu certainly has his work cut out to secure another top-4 finish. If last season has proven anything though, it’s that he is adept at getting the best out of what he has at his disposal, so let’s see how this season plays out.
Opponents Oostende are in a similar spot defensively, having lost Frederik Jakel and Steven Fortes at centre-back thanks to their loans ending. They have signed Fanos Katelaris from Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, but all three of the centre-backs still at the club from last season are very inexperienced, and with the club already having conceded 61 goals last season, and finishing just above the relegation zone, you do fear for them this season.
Both clubs have work to do in the transfer window, but with home advantage and the much better squad on paper, it is hard to look past an Anderlecht win in this opening game of the season, and I would expect it to be a comfortable one, so I am backing over 2.5 goals here.
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Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals, 1.47 on Betfair (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Westerlo v Cercle Brugge
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Sunday 24th July – 8:00PM KO
The final game of the opening weekend in Belgium sees the only newly-promoted side Westerlo playing host to Cercle Brugge, one of the surprise packages of last season, who stormed up the table under Dominik Thalhammer, falling just short of a play-off spot in the final weeks. The hosts have been active in the transfer market since their promotion, after relying heavily on loanees to secure their promotion last season.
Despite the large turnover of players, they have done some solid business, bringing back Lyle Foster and Jan Bernat following their loans, and signing former Gent keeper Sinan Bolat to ensure they have a reliable last line of defence after David Jensen departed. They have also brought in some promising young players in Nicolas Madsen and Bryan Reynolds who further improve the defence.
Westerlo look well-prepared for life in the top-flight, and though they are unlikely to do better than the previous year’s First Division B champions RUSG, they have a good chance to consolidate their top-flight berth, with a number of the sides already in the Pro League stagnating or even getting worse.
Cercle Brugge have also backed Dominik Thalhammer after his success last season, with new signing Ayase Ueda hopefully bringing goals up front, with last season’s top scorer, right winger Rabbi Matondo leaving. They have also lost goalkeeper Thomas Didillon, with Monaco loaning him, but receiving Radoslaw Majecki on loan in return. They have also signed some young defenders who may help the club push on again this season.
Having dominated the second-tier last season, finishing 7 points clear and finishing with a +23 goal difference from their 28 games, Westerlo look to be in good stead for life in the top-flight, but due to a reorganisation, three sides will be relegated from the Pro League this year, making their task all the more difficult.
I believe they will be up to the task this season, but with a huge number of new faces, they may well have a slow start, but Cercle are in a similar spot, and I believe the high turnover here, and potential lack of chemistry will lead to the goals flowing here, so I am backing over 2.5 goals again here.
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Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals, 1.90 on Betfair (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
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