Two giants of Belgian football will meet this weekend, with Champions Club Brugge looking to keep pace with high-flyers Saint Gilloise and Standard Liege hoping to improve on their less than impressive position in the Jupiler Pro League rankings.
A 10 point gap has already appeared between the two sides this campaign, with Brugge consistent in performance and result compared to Liege’s contrasting erratic form. The Champions will go into this tie as heavy favourites with bet777.be and can be backed at 1.32, whilst the odds on underdogs Liege emphasise just how poor they have been. You can back the away side to upset the football odds at 8.75.
We’ve previewed how things might play out and provided you with some sports betting tips. Place your online bets with Bet777.be – the best place for live betting on the Jupiler Pro League.
Can Standard Liege Deal with Brugge’s Attacking Fluidity?
Standard Liege win to nil – 18.00
If you fancy an outside bet, this one might be for you. The visitors have really struggled to find the net with any great frequency and therefore their best chance of winning the game will be to shut out their opposition. In their last 10 league games, Liege have only managed to score multiple goals on 1 occasion, in a 2-2 draw with Leuven. If they are to have any chance of picking up a positive result, they will have to be compact defensively.
Philippe Clement has utilised a number of players across Brugge’s front-line, but the same tactical ideology tends to apply. Whether it’s Charles de Ketelaere, Noa Lang or Kamel Sowah, Clement likes his side to play with fluidity when going forward. The wingers will often take up positions in half-spaces, acting as inverted wingers, whilst the striker (more often than not de Ketelaere) will run the channels to help his team progress the ball.
Standard Liege tend to set up in a 4-4-2, meaning their full-backs will face an important task in nullifying their effective wingers. It will also be crucial that their 2 central midfielders track the runs of Hans Vanaken and Ruud Vormer, as they have combined for 8 goals already this campaign. They do face an uphill battle at the Jan Breydel Stadion, but they will have to start putting some wins together if they want to break back into the top four of the Jupiler Pro League rankings.
Club Brugge Too Good at Both Ends
Club Brugge to win by 1 goal – 3.90
Although the focus mainly seems to fall on Brugge’s dynamic attack, they have also been solid at the other end of the pitch. Stanley Nsoki, Jack Hendry and Brandon Mechele have all performed impressively when playing, with Eder Balanta a crucial cog in the defensive setup. They will likely see themselves up against a compact Liege team, reluctant to concede the first goal, and therefore a Brugge victory will potentially come with a tight score line.
A question mark also surrounds Bas Dost and whether the experienced Dutch forward will start a second consecutive league game. He was responsible for both of Brugge’s goals in their 2-1 win over Sint Truiden and also bagged a brace in the Belgian Cup a few days prior. With the service he is afforded by Brugge’s many creative players, he is guaranteed to score goals. It is up to Clement to decide whether the loss of mobility in his attacking trio is worth the goalscoring nous offered by Dost.
If it’s Dost or de Ketelaere, one thing is certain. Club Brugge have match-winners in most positions throughout their side. They can’t afford to drop any points with Saint Gilloise in such remarkable form at the top of the Jupiler Pro League rankings, and we think they will have too much quality on the day for a Liege side that is yet to really get going in their lacklustre league campaign.
