Eupen vs Club Brugge Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 Belgian Pro League
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THE FACTS
When is Eupen vs Club Brugge on and what time does it start? Eupen vs Club Brugge will take place on Sunday 13th August, 2023 – 15:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Eupen vs Club Brugge? Visit each team’s official website for the latest ticket information
Where can I watch Eupen vs Club Brugge in the UK? Eupen vs Club Brugge will not be televised live and cannot be streamed in the UK
THE LOWDOWN
EUPEN
The home team spent the 2022/23 Belgian Jupiler Pro League season battling against finishing in the bottom three and the relegation places. They are, once again, expected to struggle throughout the campaign – especially with the reduction in the league from 18 to 16 teams, squeezing the quality of the sides that are down at the bottom end of the league. However, it has been an impressive start to the campaign.
Signs of improvement were shown in their final pre-season match, a 1-0 win against Olympique de Marseille, but they began the season with an entertaining 2-2 draw with Belgium’s entertainers, Westerlo, who finished in the top eight last year. They followed that result and performance up with a surprise 1-0 win away to a Genk side that are expected to be challenging for the title, once again, this season.
CLUB BRUGGE
Last year was a bit of a bizarre one for Club Brugge. After winning the Belgian title in 2022, they started the season really badly in the league but managed to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. Despite that achievement, due to the performances and results in the league, Carl Hoefkens was sacked and replaced by Scott Parker. Parker didn’t last long until he was also sacked and Club Brugge tread water until the end of the season before, somehow, squeezing their way into the top four for the championship round.
They managed to poach Ronny Deila from arch-rivals Standard Liege with the former Celtic and NYCFC boss expected to mount another title challenge. The visitors began this season with a 3-0 hammering of Aarhus in the first-leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie. In their five matches across all competitions so far this season, they have won three, drawn one and lost one but that loss came with a heavily rotated side in the second-leg away to Aarhus.
THE PREDICTED LINE-UPS
EUPEN
Under the impressive management of former Wolfsburg boss Florian Kohfeldt, Eupen are likely to be unchanged for this one, given their good start to the season with four points from six games, and the fact they have a fully fit and available squad.
PREDICTED XI (5-3-2): Nurudeen; Magnee, Paeshuyse, Palsson, Davidson, Van Genechten; Baiye, Lambert, Deom; Nuhu, Charles-Cook
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
CLUB BRUGGE
Ronny Deila has often played a 4-2-3-1 system or a three-at-the-back throughout his managerial career. Their win at Westerlo last weekend was using a 4-2-3-1 system and, given the fact they hammered KA in midweek they can rotate for the second-leg so can play their full strength side for this one.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Buchanan, Mechele, Spileers, Sabbe; Onyedika, Vetlesen; Skov Olsen, Vanaken, Nusa; Thiago
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
THE PREDICTION
It has been an extremely surprising start to the season for Eupen with four points collected from their opening two matches against probable European qualification contenders. The home team have shown a capability to tactically see off opposition as well as go toe to toe in an attacking encounter. Club Brugge are yet to click into the intense style of football that Deila prefers but quite often his sides are high-scoring, both for and against. This could be quite entertaining for the neutral with both teams scoring seeming likely.
TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
