Belgian Pro League Match Week Eight Preview | OneFootball

Match week eight kicks off in the Belgian Pro League with Genk holding a three point lead over defending champions Club Brugge. At the other end of the table, Beerschot remain the only side yet to win, with just one point from seven games.

Standard Liege v Union St Gilloise

Union, usually quick starters, have not had the best of starts to the campaign by their own lofty standards. They are three without a win and also three without scoring. Standard, on the other hand, have defied expectations with a decent start to the season. They have been defensively solid and last time out against Dender finally managed to score more than once in a game. Last season Union won both of their match ups.

Beerschot v Sint Truiden

Dirk Kuyt’s Beerschot simply must win on Saturday if they want the former Liverpool favourite to remain in charge. All the chat coming out of the club indicates anything less than a win and Kuyt will be out. Sint Truiden, who looked awful to start the season, have shown resolve in recent weeks. They are four games unbeaten, with their first win coming over OH Leuven. Felice Mazzu will fancy grabbing another win on Saturday to keep this run of form going.

Westerlo v Antwerp

Westerlo started the season well, but have now gone four without a win, although they came mighty close against Anderlecht. They have such a young squad that inconsistency is to be expected. Antwerp, on the other hand, have also been inconsistent but played well to beat Union 2-0 last weekend. Tjaronn Chery has been the star for the Greta Old, with three goals and an assist in seven games. Antwerp have not lost to Westerlo in the league since the side returned to the top flight during the 2022/2023 season.

Anderlecht v Charleroi

Anderlecht suffered their first defeat of the season midweek against Genk, with Brian Riemer facing the sack just days later. The players will hope to respond to criticism against a Charleroi side that have shown glimpses of good and glimpses of bad. Daan Heymans is the star for the Zebras with six goals in seven games. Last season Anderlecht beat Charleroi on both occasions, but the away side are certainly a better outfit than they were last campaign.

Club Brugge v Gent

Club suffered yet another 3-0 defeat to Dortmund in the Champions League, although they certainly played well enough to get at least a point. Domestically Club are on a roll, with four wins in a row and only one goal conceded. Gent have also found form, as they are four unbeaten in the league and have only conceded twice. Last season, it was the home sides that won each of the match ups.

KV Mechelen v Cercle Brugge

Mechelen will fancy their chances on Sunday against a Cercle side that have struggled to start the season. Mechelen have been inconsistent, but last time out at home they put five past a decent Charleroi side. Nikola Storm is showing form again, with three goals in six games. Cercle, on the other hand, have only won once in all competitions in their previous five. This is certainly the trickiest start to the season they have had under Miron Muslic, who will hope that he can set things right this weekend. Last season it was the away side that won each of the games.

Genk v Dender

Genk are the form side in Belgium at the moment with five wins on the trot. The games have been entertaining as well, with plenty of goals outside of the 1-0 win over Westerlo. Tolu Arokodare leads the side with five goals in seven games and it appears Thorsten Fink has found the way to get the best out of the Nigerian forward. Dender started the season well but suffered their second defeat of the season against Standard Liege. A regression to the mean is expected to happen, but their start has shown that they can compete at this level.

OH Leuven v Kortrijk

Two sides with similar ambitions and similar starts to the season, OH Leuven will hope they can avoid picking up a fifth draw. They have only lost one of the last five matches, but also only won one of their previous five matches. Kortrijk have been inconsistent as well, given that expectations were high that they could be a mid table side this season. They have only won once in their last five as well. Last year, OH Leuven one this fixture 3-0, with the return clash ending 0-0.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson