Reigning champions Club Brugge will be looking to secure their first win of the 2024-25 Belgian Pro League season when they host Royal Antwerp at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be keen to avoid extending the gap between themselves and the league leaders in a bid to reclaim the title they won in the 2022-23 season.
Match preview
Club Brugge have endured a difficult start to the campaign, with two defeats and a draw from their opening three matches leaving them with just one point and in the relegation zone.
The champions began with a 1-1 home draw against Mechelen before suffering a 1-0 loss to Standard Liege, despite enjoying 68% possession and registering 16 shots.
The Bruges side then suffered another setback, throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Genk, with the decisive goal conceded in the 94th minute.
Nicky Hayen, who took charge of the team for the championship round last season and guided them to the title, will be concerned by his side's struggles to secure victories.
Their next opponents, Royal Antwerp, have been beaten by Brugge in their last two meetings, but the home side have failed to win their last three league matches at the Jan Breydel Stadium, casting doubt over their ability to extend their dominance over their rivals.
Meanwhile, the visiting side will be hoping to build on their impressive 6-1 thrashing of Sint-Truiden last Sunday, which is the biggest win by any side in the current season of the Belgian top-flight.
Jacob Ondrejka was the star of the show with a second-half hat-trick, as the visitors secured their second league win of the season following a 1-0 opening-day victory over Charleroi and a 2-1 defeat to Anderlecht.
Jonas De Roeck, who took over as manager in June, will be eager for his side to maintain their goalscoring form when they visit Club Brugge.
The Reds finished eighth in the away table last season and will be looking to improve on that record as they aim to reclaim the league title.
Team News
Club Brugge left-back Bjorn Meijer underwent knee surgery in May and is still recovering, ruling him out of this match, while Victor Barbera is also doubtful due to a knock.
Teenage right-back Kyriani Sabbe is expected to miss the game with a muscle injury sustained in June, while midfielder Igor Thiago is sidelined for several weeks with a knee injury.
The visitors will approach this clash with doubts over Bjorn Engels (hamstring injury) and Michel-Ange Balikwisha (muscle issue).
Twenty-one-year-old winger Ondrejka is the joint-top scorer with three goals after his hat-trick in the last match and will be a player to watch.
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Siquet, Mechele, Ordonez, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Vetlesen; Olsen, Vanaken, Tzolis; Nilsson
Royal Antwerp possible starting lineup:
Lammens; Bataille, Alderweireld, Van den Bosch, Costa; Odoi, Doumbia; Kerk, Chery, Ondrejka; Janssen
We say: Club Brugge 1-2 Royal Antwerp
Club Brugge have struggled so far this season and have not looked solid enough defensively to stop a good attack – something Antwerp have demonstrated they possess after scoring the second-most goals in the league at this point.
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