Despite a recent upturn in form, Beerschot remain at the bottom of the Jupiler Pro League rankings, 8 points adrift of safety. Antwerp have been fairly consistent thus far, and their defensive solidarity has seen them climb to 2nd place, 4 points off league leaders St. Gilloise.
Antwerp will go into the tie as favourites with Bet777.be and you can back them with football odds of 2.40. Beerschot will be slight underdogs as you would expect looking at the Jupiler Pro League rankings, and they can be backed to upset the odds at 2.85. If you think a draw is on the cards, you can back them to share the points at 3.45.
We’ve previewed the upcoming tie and provided you with some tips to help with your sports bets this weekend. Place your football bets at Bet777.be – the best place for live betting and online bets on the Jupiler Pro League.
Beerschot Reliance on Holzhauser
Tie and Over 1.5 goals – 10.00
Raphel Holzhauser has been Beerschot’s main man since his arrival from Grasshoppers. He directly contributed to 32 goals in 34 games last season, helping his side to an impressive 9th place finish. The story has been much the same this campaign, with the Austrian playmaker involved in over 50% of his team’s goals.
Although his talent is a positive for Beerschot, they must establish a way to find the net when Holzhauser is not on top form. They need more from their Scottish striker Lawrence Shankland, who has only managed 2 goals in 10 appearances thus far. The 26 year old is more than capable of finding the net consistently, and has already registered three 20+ goal campaigns in his time in Scotland. If he can find some confidence in front of goal, together with the creative capacity of Holzhauser, Beerschot may be able to drag themselves off the bottom of the table.
It will be a difficult outing for the league’s lowest scorers against one of the division’s tightest defences, but some recent results will give Beerschot hope. They are creating plenty of chances in most games but have lacked a cutting edge. We can see them getting on the scoresheet, and if they can keep things tight at the back, they are capable of holding the visitors on their day.
Antwerp’s Defensive Improvements
Antwerp to win to nil – 4.65
Michael Frey grabs the headlines more often than not, and for good reason. The Swiss forward has netted 15 times in 16 games this campaign, scoring over half of his team’s 29 goals. But for all his impressive exploits in the attack, Antwerp have been equally solid at the opposite end of the pitch.
After a bumpy start to the new season, the visitors have tightened things up of late. They have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 league games, which has seen them rise to 2nd place, behind only St. Gilloise. Abdoulaye Seck and Dinis Almedia have coped well in the absence of Bjorn Engels, and Birger Verstraete has been a mainstay in front of the back four. The compact defensive line has allowed the likes of Viktor Fischer a free role going forward, and the Danish midfielder has contributed 2 goals and 6 assists.
So whilst all eyes will be on Frey, Antwerp will be confident of winning this game from the back. If they can keep Holzhauser quiet, they can be rest assured that their forward line has the quality to unlock most teams in the division. A win is crucial for Antwerp to keep pace with league leaders St. Gilloise in the Jupiler Pro League rankings, and we expect they will come away from the Olympisch Stadion with all 3 points.
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