Both sharing the spoils during their opening matches last weekend, Standard Liege and Club Brugge will fight for their maiden Belgian Pro League victories of the season at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on Sunday evening.
Les Rouches worked extremely hard to earn a point at the home of Genk last time out, whilst the Belgian champions were forced to settle for a draw against Mechelen on home soil.
Match preview
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Following an unbeaten pair of matches in pre-season, including a 2-1 win over Eredivisie side NEC on July 13, Standard Liege were certainly targeting an opening weekend success in the Pro League, but Les Rouches never found themselves close to winning last time out.
Having just 25% possession and a single shot on target against Genk last Sunday, it was a case of battening down the hatches for the visitors to Cegeka Arena, with Liege goalkeeper Matthieu Epolo doing remarkably well to navigate the contest without being breached by the dominant hosts.
After a respectable share of the points during the opening round of Pro League fixtures, Standard Liege occupy 11th position in the very early top-flight standings, with only Westerlo, Gent, Royal Antwerp and Anderlecht managing to collect maximum points last weekend.
Due to the departure of last campaign's leading goalscorer Wilfried Kanga to Championship side Cardiff City - via parent club Hertha Berlin - Hayao Kawabe is now expected to step up the attacking plate for Les Rouches after providing 16 goal contributions during the 2023-24 league term.
Facing the club for whom he represented on 26 occasions between 2005 and 2008 on Sunday, Standard Liege manager Ivan Leko remains under a considerable amount of pressure, with the 46-year-old Croatian winning only three and losing 10 of his 20 competitive matches in charge so far.
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After claiming possession of the Belgian Pro League crown at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, Club Brugge were unable to make the perfect start to their defence of the title last Friday night, when first-tier minnows Mechelen forced a share of the points at Jan Breydelstadion.
Following a scrappy first half, it appeared as if the Blauw-Zwart would cruise to a routine home success after young left-back Joaquin Seys netted his maiden goal for the Belgian giants, but the visitors were level just 14 minutes later courtesy of midfielder Patrick Pflucke.
Despite having 27 shots on the Mechelen net last time out, Club Brugge were only able to make the net ripple on a single occasion, and it is clear to see that Sunday's visitors might not be the same attacking force as last season, when they scored 83 times in 40 Pro League contests.
Although key contributors such as Andreas Skov Olsen and Ferran Jutgla remain employed by the Blauw-Zwart, the departure of Brazilian sensational Igor Tudor to Premier League outfit Brentford is a major blow, with the 23-year-old bagging 29 goals across all competitions during 2023-24.
Only scoring two fewer than Tudor's 18 in the Pro League last campaign, Gustaf Nilsson is the new man leading the line for Club Brugge, with the four-time Sweden international joining from title challengers Union SG near the beginning of the summer transfer window.
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Team News
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Standard Liege remain without the services of goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart, who is still recovering from a knock sustained at the end of April.
As a result, 20-year-old Epolo is set to continue in between the sticks after an impressive clean sheet last weekend, with Matteo Godfroid fulfilling the role as backup stopper on the bench.
Les Rouches are short of centre-back options ahead of this weekend's clash, with Souleyman Doumbia last featuring for the club in April.
The beginning of Bjorn Meijer's third season at Club Brugge has been hampered by fitness issues, and the Dutchman is a doubt for the trip to Standard Liege on Sunday.
With youngster Kyriani Sabbe fighting back from a knock, Maxim De Cuyper should continue to provide a creative outlet for the Blauw-Zwart from right-back.
Standard Liege possible starting lineup:
Epolo; Fossey, Sutalo, Hautekiet, Bates, Lawrence; O'Neill, Price, Bulat, Kuavita; Kyei
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; De Cuyper, Mechele, Romero, Seys; Vetlesen, Onyedika; Nusa, Vanaken, Jutgla; Nilsson
We say: Standard Liege 0-2 Club Brugge
Standard Liege survived a fair share of scares to escape Genk with a point last weekend, and repeating that particular trick on Sunday against the Belgian champions will be much harder.
Club Brugge are winless from their first two competitive matches of the season, but we are predicting that the Blauw-Zwart will break an unwanted run of results at Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
