The second round of Jupiler Pro League fixtures continued to throw up surprises as three out of last season’s top four continued to stutter, meaning plenty of online bets suffered.
Genk were beaten by Oostende in a seven goal thriller, Anderlecht were held to a 1-1 draw on the road by Eupen, and Antwerp sunk to rock bottom of the Jupiler Pro League rankings becoming the only team yet to pick up a point as they were beaten 1-0 by high-flyers Kortrijk. Club Brugge were the only side from last season’s top four to get their season back on track as they ran away as 1-0 victors on the road against newly promoted Saint Gilloise – but even the champions looked less than convincing.
The upcoming weekend has some interesting match-ups in store. Club Brugge will be looking to build upon their first win of the season in the Brugge Derby. Kortrijk will hope to provide another shock and continue their impressive start to the season by overturning Belgian powerhouse Genk, whereas the latter will be looking to get off the mark for wins this season.
Standard Liege host Antwerp who will be desperate to pick up their first points of the season and Anderlecht face off against Seraing with expectations of lifting themselves out of the bottom two of the Jupiler Pro League rankings.
With plenty of exciting ties in an already exciting Pro League campaign, let us take you through our sport bets for the weekend.
As always, live betting on Bet777.be always pays generously, so make sure you keep an eye on the live odds offered!
Club Brugge vs Cercle Brugge
Anything can happen in a derby and putting a football bet on a derby can be risky. We think Club Brugge will get the better of their local rivals in this one, but you cannot rule Cercle Brugge out.
Cercle Brugge have started the season well with an away win against Beerschot VA and a 1-1 draw with a dangerous Leuven side spearheaded by the prolific goal scorer Thomas Henry. Club Brugge have also managed four points but gained some momentum in their last fixture as they overturned a spirited Saint Gilloise side.
Club Brugge are among the favourites to top the Jupiler Pro League rankings and retain their title. We expect Philippe Clement’s side to use this game to kickstart their season and they should have more than enough quality to see off Cercle Brugge. Club Brugge have won five of the six meetings since Cercle Brugge were promoted back into the first division, with the other ending a draw. It’s difficult to see anything other than the champions asserting their dominance. If you are looking for a safe bet this weekend, we think Clement’s side are your best pick!
Club Brugge to win @ 1.43
Beerschot VA vs Saint Gilloise
These two have had differing starts to their campaigns despite only two points separating them in the Jupiler Pro League rankings.
With Deniz Undav looking lively and comfortable in front of goal, the German will be confident of continuing his fine form and building on his 17 goal season that fired Saint Gilloise to promotion in their last campaign. We fancy Undav to score and Saint Gilloise to win.
Saint Gilloise to win @ 1.86
Sint Truiden vs Zulte Waregem
There were fears about how Sint Truiden would perform this season after they struggled towards the bottom-end of the Jupiler Pro League rankings last season. However, an impressive 2-1 over Gent in their opening game dismissed many of those doubts and a 0-0 draw against current 2nd place Charleroi saw them claim four from six possible points in a solid start to the season.
Essevee have had a tricky start to the season. The return of Saido Berahino to bolster the attack led by veteran Jelle Vossen leads us to think they will not be in too much trouble this season. Essevee have traditionally played well on the road and this looks to be a fairly well-matched tie and we think the result will show that.
Draw @ 3.40
KV Mechelen vs Eupen
KV Mechelen go into this game as heavy favourites, but we don’t think it will be as simple as that. They don’t tend to gain much from a home advantage, performing significantly better on the road last season.
Despite only having two points on the board, Eupen had potentially the toughest opening fixtures you could ask for against Club Brugge and Anderlecht. Their resilient performances allowed them to come away without defeat and we expect them to build on this solid start to their campaign.
Draw @ 4.35
Kortrijk vs Genk
Kortrijk have had the dream start to the season, sitting at the top of the Jupiler Pro League rankings as the only team to have won maximum points.
Genk have struggled to get going, yet to pick up a win in all competitions at the start of this campaign. Confidence will be low after being outscored by Oostende in a 4-3 defeat and losing out to Shakhtar in a close Champions League qualification tie. On the upside, Theo Bongonda is in fine form and last year’s top goalscorer Paul Onuachu got off the mark in the week.
It’s difficult to see Genk failing to score, but Kortrijk have been defensively resilient and we think these two sides will cancel each other out in a score draw.
Draw @ 3.65
Standard Liege vs Antwerp
Antwerp have started the season poorly and the fixtures don’t get any easier for them. They travel to Liege to face a side which has started the season strongly. We can only see Antwerp struggling on the road once again here.
Standard Liege to win to nil @ 4.35
Leuven vs Charleroi
This is another even match-up. Leuven are always capable of scoring with the Frenchman Thomas Henry leading the line and having scored in both of their opening fixtures.
Charleroi have started well and were particularly impressive in their 3-0 win away to Oostende in their opening game of the campaign. They were held by Sint Truiden but were unlucky not to claim all three points after having a goal disallowed for offside in the second half. It will be close but we think Henry just gives Leuven the edge.
Leuven to win and both teams to score @ 5.25
Anderlecht vs Seraing
Seraing will be happy with their start to the season, but the step-up in quality will be too much as they travel to face Anderlecht on the road.
Vincent Kompany’s side has bundles of quality and they will need to start firing soon to keep up with the likes of Club Brugge. We expect them to pick up their first win of the season at home and kick-start their season.
Anderlecht to win @ 1.37
Oostende vs Gent
Both of these sides have had mixed starts to the season after finishing the last campaign within four points of each other. Oostende have conceded more goals than any other team in the division but have also scored the joint most after putting four past Genk.
Gent have been unable to pick up their first win of the season and sold star striker Roman Yaremchuk to Benfica. However, new signing Gianni Bruno has started the season in fine form and looks set to have an equally successful season as he did last time around with Zulte Waregem.
With goals in both forwards and the talented Dane Andrew Hjulsager pulling the strings, Gent should get the better of this tie.
Gent to win to nil @ 7.75
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