Sint-Truiden VV will get their Belgian First Divison A season underway this week when they welcome Standard Liege to Daio Wasabi Stayen Stadium for a matchday one clash on Sunday evening.
The hosts come into this match off the back of a 2-0 pre-season friendly win over Saudi Arabian League side Al-Taawoun FC, while the visitors played out an entertaining 2-2 draw against Ligue 1 outfit Metz.
Match preview
STVV will see last season as a major step backward, having gone from finishing the 2021-22 season in ninth place with 51 points to 12th place last term, recording only 42 points in 34 games.
Thorsten Fink's side delivered a modest record of 11 wins, nine draws and 14 losses in the league while only managing 37 goals, which was the second-worst tally of any side, with only bottom club RFC Seraing faring worse with 28.
At home, STVV took a total of 22 points from a possible 54, which was the fifth-lowest in the league, though they did record the second-best defensive stats with just 19 goals conceded, which was only beaten by the eventual league winners Royal Antwerp.
The hosts have kept busy in pre-season, squeezing in as many as 10 friendlies, and did relatively well in those matches, producing a record of six wins, two draws and two losses, with the most notable result being a 2-1 win over PSV at the start of the month.
Of the last seven encounters between these sides dating back to 2020, STVV have fared quite well against this opposition, losing only once in that time. However, that loss did come last season at this venue, and they will be determined to get their revenge in this one.
In contrast to their opponents, Standard Liege would have seen last season as a massive success, improving from a 14th-placed finish the previous season all the way up to sixth place last term.
A run of four unbeaten results up to the last match of the season saw them pull within a single point of Gent in fifth place, but they failed to take the opportunity to move past them in the final match of the regular season when they lost 3-2 to OH Leuven.
However, while they finished the season fairly well, it was a completely different outcome in the Conference League playoff group, where they failed to win a single of their six matches, losing four and drawing two.
In terms of their away form, Standard finished in the bottom half of the table, with 24 points earned in 20 matches, and they did not win any of their last four matches, conceding nine and scoring just once in that time.
Since then, they have played five pre-season matches, and after a losing start against RWDM, they have built up some momentum coming into this match, unbeaten in their last four, which included credible draws against Hertha Berlin and Metz.
Team News
Fink's biggest challenge this season will be finding a way to replace Gianni Bruno, who scored 48% of his side's goals last season, including 18 in the league, which was the third-highest behind Hugo Cuypers and Ayase Ueda.
Aboubakary Koita will be the most likely to be expected to step up, and he looked good in their last few games, capping off the pre-season with a goal in their last match against Al Taawoun.
Carl Hoefkens has one injury absentee for this match in the form of Gilles Dewaele, who is suffering from an ACL injury and is only expected to return next month at the earliest.
Like their opponents, Standard will also be without their top scorer from last season, Philip Zinckernagel, who moved to Olympiacos in the summer, which will likely mean that Noah Ohio will lead the line for the visitors.
Sint-Truiden possible starting lineup:
Schmidt; Ananou, Ogawa, Smets, Bauer, Bocat; Librici, Steuckers, Van Dessel; Kaya, Koita
Standard Liege possible starting lineup:
Bodart; Ngnokam, Bokadi, Hautekiet; Fossey, Mundle, Davida, Donnum; Balikwisha, Canak; Ohio
We say: Sint-Truiden 1-1 Standard Liege
Historically, matches between these sides have been fairly close, with only one of their last five meetings ending by a margin of more than one goal. With both sides likely to need the first few games to find their rhythm without their top goalscorers from last season, we doubt there will be many goals in this one and fancy it to end level at the full-time whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
