Standard Liege v Union Saint-Gilloise

The first Sunday Pro League fixture sees league leaders Union St-Gilloise heading to Liege to face Standard. The league leaders have seen their lead drop from over 10 points to just 5 in these final weeks of the season, and now face a real battle in the play-offs to claim their first title in almost 90 years. 

The Tony Bloom owned side will be confident here, knowing that they have the best away record in the division, winning 13 of their 16 games on the road in the Pro League. Their visit to the Stade Maurice Dufrasne will see them facing off against a Standard side who have nothing to play for, being safe from relegation but too far from the play-offs to sneak in. Union need to ensure their lead is not reduced any further, and this is a great opportunity to take all 3 points. 

This is the final game of Union striker Dante Vanzeir’s suspension after punching Valentine Ozornwafor against Charleroi. They will be grateful to have him back after missing the previous four games, and despite winning twice, their two draws against Eupen and Oostende showed that he is a key part of their attack, but, like the two wins in this run, this is a game against a team with nothing to play for, and this should mean Union can find a way through without him. 

The visitors have scored 2 or more goals in 13 of 16 away games this season, and in all of their previous 4 games on the road. The one prior was away to title rivals Club Brugge, in which they managed a 0-0 draw. Before that, they had scored at least twice in their last 7 games. The goalless draw with Club Brugge is the only time all season that Union have drawn a blank whilst playing away.

Their hosts meanwhile have won just twice in their last 9 games, once against now-relegated Beerschot, and against Kortrijk last week, when both teams had nothing to play for. They have lost to Seraing and Oostende in this run, both teams in the relegation scrap. Union still need every point they can muster, and I would be surprised to see Liege putting up much resistance here today.

Cercle Brugge v Gent

Next up on Sunday is another game that could be crucial for the upcoming Pro League play-offs. Gent’s 1-0 win last time out against Anderlecht has moved them above the side from the capital into the final play-off spot on the basis of games won (which counts ahead of goal difference in Belgium). Two wins will therefore guarantee their spot in the top-4, regardless of other results. 

Cercle Brugge meanwhile have an outside shot at the secondary play-off, sitting just two points behind Genk and Sint-Truiden in eighth and ninth respectively. The Groen en Zwart must win both of their games to stand a real chance of sneaking in, and thus this game should be interesting, with both sides needing 3 points. 

Gent arrive in Bruges on a fantastic run, having won their last 7 games in a row to slowly close up and then overtake Anderlecht and put themselves in pole position for the final play-off spot. They are superb defensively, keeping 5 clean sheets in this run of 7 wins, and having conceded just two goals in this time. 

There have been plenty of late winners in this run, thanks to the visitors often choosing to keep the game tight and only attack when they won’t be exposed themselves. Expect the same here, and with Cercle being similarly keen to take home full points, they will also be keeping it tight and playing cautiously. They will again be missing first-choice keeper Thomas Didillon which could have a real impact on this game, as his replacement Warleson has so far conceded 7 goals in 3 games.

Ultimately, Gent have shown real class in the last two months, and they should win again here, but the pressure on this game, especially playing before Anderlecht, alongside a strong desire from Cercle to keep their play-off hopes alive going into the final game of the season means that a draw could easily occur, which is why I am going for Draw No Bet instead of the outright Gent win. 

Cercle have tended to struggle against the bigger sides, but the form book can only tell you so much when it gets down to this stage of the season, and Dominik Thalhammer’s side have shown they are capable of getting an unfancied result when they are on song. Gent will be well aware of this, and will be sure to remain defensively solid as they have all season long, and hope to nick a goal when the opportunity presents itself.

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Anderlecht v Sporting Charleroi

The tea-time game is the game of the day in the Pro League, with Anderlecht following hot on the heels of the Gent side who have stolen the final play-off spot from under their noses last week. Things don’t get much easier for Vincent Kompany’s side, with a visit from the side now directly below them in sixth. Charleroi arrive fresh from a 5-0 demolition of Cercle Brugge, and though they were helped by a 22nd minute red card, it must be said that they were already 2-0 up within 10 minutes. 

Prior to this Charleroi had been struggling somewhat, with just 1 win in their previous 5 games, although they did play both of the top-2 during this run. The 5-0 will have no doubt restored some confidence, and this is a great opportunity for them, as a win here will close the gap between the two sides to four points, which will become just a 2 point gap once points are halved at the end of the season, as we head to the play-offs.

Anderlecht meanwhile have looked guaranteed for a championship play-off for most of this season, but the slip-up away in Ghent two weeks ago may have thrown that all away. They simply must win their final two games to have a chance of overhauling either Gent, or Antwerp who sit a point ahead of both sides. 

Both sides are high scorers, with Anderlecht third and Charleroi sixth in the division for goals scored. The visitors are especially so on the road, having seen three or more goals in an incredible 13 of their 16 Pro League games away from the Stade du Pays this season. Anderlecht have seen three or more goals in 3 of their last 4 home games, with the hosts scoring at least twice in each of those games. 

After a brief spell in which they struggled in front of goal, their attack is firing again, and drawing a blank against the league’s second-meanest defence last time out should not be reason to doubt their attacking talent. However, their defence is a weakness and they have not yet kept a clean sheet against a side above seventh in the division. 

Either side could win this game, with it mostly depending on the performance on the day. Neither side has been in sparkling form but on their days can beat anyone. Charleroi have tended to struggle against top sides, with 5 of their 6 games away to top-8 rivals seeing over 2.5 goals and 17 goals conceded. Anderlecht meanwhile have scored more goals than anyone but the top-2 in the league with 65 in 32 games, and put 3 goals past their visitors in the return fixture earlier in the season.

Genk v Eupen

The final game of the penultimate round of fixtures in the Pro League sees Genk facing off against Eupen. Eupen are not quite safe, but with a 5 point cushion and 6 points to play for, they should be safe from a relegation play-off. Genk however have a much more difficult task, currently level on points with Sint-Truiden, and with Cercle Brugge within striking distance just two points further back. Two wins should be enough to secure their position, and they will be confident of securing a win here.

Eupen have certainly improved under their new manager Michael Valkanis, but they are still big underdogs here. They have won just once in 14 Pro League games, but they have taken some notable points recently, including a 0-0 draw against league leaders Union and 1-1 against seventh-placed Mechelen. 

Genk arrive in this game having not won since February 27th, but they do have home advantage, and prior to their 1-0 derby loss to Sint-Truiden in their last home game, they had won 5 games in a row at home, scoring at least twice in all of them. Eupen know they are all but safe, and while they won’t roll over, Genk’s precarious position should encourage them to push forward and secure the win.

The hosts have won 6 of their 8 ties against bottom-half opposition, scoring at least twice in 7 of these 8 games, the one exception being Cercle Brugge in tenth where they were only able to draw 1-1. In games against the bottom-5 teams, of which Eupen are a part, they have scored twice or more in all but one of their 8 games, scoring 24 goals in these matches at an average of 3 goals per game.

Eupen have only won 1 of 7 away games against top-8 opponents, this game being a 3-1 win away to Mechelen way back in August. They have conceded 17 goals in these 7 games, at a rate of more than 2 goals per game. They have conceded 14 goals in their last 8 Pro League games, and Genk will be confident of adding to this tally here today.

Regardless of Sint-Truiden’s result on Saturday, three points will either be needed to ensure they retake eighth place or to give themselves some breathing room if their rivals slip up. Eupen could be safe by the time this game takes place should Seraing fail to win, and if so this game becomes even easier for the hosts, as their opposition’s season will be effectively over with nothing left to play for.

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