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Antwerp vs Club Brugge KV Prediction & Betting tips
n Monday evening, Royal Antwerp FC receives the visit from Club Brugge. In a battle for the provisional second place, both teams decide who will be the closest follower to KRC Genk. With a nine out of twelve, they can both be satisfied with their start in play-off I. Antwerp has been better on the move all season than for its own public. Can they keep the three points at home this time for their own audience?
Royal Antwerp:
For the first time in history, Antwerp is playing play-off I. Nevertheless, it was a strong performance after it played in the then Second Division two years ago. Thanks to highly targeted purchases and an appropriate coach with Laszlo Bölöni, Antwerp is currently surprising both friend and foe. With a brilliant start of nine out of twelve, it can hope for a top three position and certainly European football. That would also be unique and almost everyone dreams that Antwerp breathes.
Ghent wanted to gather its first points for the home crowd against team in form Antwerp in Play-off I. The Buffalos still have the cup final behind them to force European football, but would rather not see The Great Old finish any further. The gap with the number four was six points before the kick-off. Despite all good intentions, Antwerp made the nets shake for the first time. Baby pushed Govea’s free kick against the ropes, but was unable to celebrate his goal for long. The VAR analyzed the images and correctly concluded that he was offside. Baby, however, remained a scourge for the Ghent defense. In an almost identical phase after a new free kick by Refealov, he first aimed at Kaminski, but shortly thereafter the attacker hit. Derijck put Kaminski in trouble with a bad play-ball, Baby punished the bumbling from a sharp angle. The 0-1 rest position was by no means stolen, Ghent was not able to give much. After the break, Ghent had to work hard to avoid a zero out of twelve and, under the impetus of a strong substitute Tsjakvetadze, went looking for the equalizer. It increased the pressure, but left room for Antwerp counters. At the hour, Mbokani found his way to the goal, but even then the goal was rightly rejected for Refaelov’s offside in the pre-promotion. Afterwards, the visitors were again pushed into oppression. Ghent made it to the back line several times, almost always at the hands of a delightful soccer player Chakvetadze. It was no coincidence that he just turned the pressure into a well-deserved equalizer with a handsome place ball in the far corner. Ghent’s hope for a first victory in Play-off I flared up, but that was not included in Refaelov. With ten minutes to play, he immediately shot a lob from Govea past Kaminski and single-handedly took care of the Antwerp nine out of twelve and a hangover for Ghent, which was unable to gather points in Play-off I.
“Three wins in a row, who would have thought Antwerp could achieve that?” match winner Lior Refaelov starts his interview. “We always put our head to it, put a lot of energy into our defensive work and then try to force something on the counter. We really want to enjoy it. We have nothing to lose and that may be our strength. It was definitely our strength. The intention is to grab points tonight Ghent still has the cup final in hand to make European football, so we wanted to push them a bit more into trouble to force a place in Europe through the play-offs. That is a bridge too far. For me, Genk and Club Brugge are above all other teams. It is good to have ambition, but let us remain realistic. We want to fight for place three, “concludes the midfielder. with a wink.
Club Brugge:
Club Brugge, on the other hand, always managed to establish itself at the top of the rankings just under leader KRC Genk. That is also the case in play-off I. In fact, it managed to reduce a difference of more than ten points (also partly by halving the points) to one point. And just now let Club play in the field at Genk last week. Unfortunately for Club, it lost and has to make another make-up race if it wants to have a chance to win the league title. With six games to go, that is of course still possible.
Both coaches retained confidence in their team from the previous day and wanted to bring dominant football. However, it was primarily an energetic Genk that succeeded. Club was hunted in every corner of the field and didn’t get into his normal game. After just under fifteen minutes, the impressive pressing of the home team was rewarded. Denswil played, not for the last time, lousy, Trossard took the ball and nailed it nice in the bottom corner. Club was excited, but could count on an excellent Horvath. The American goalkeeper kept the difference limited with two good saves within the minute. Samatta and Trossard could not deepen the score. Out of the blue, the visitors were then given the chance to equalize. Vormer ended up in the sandwich and provoked a penalty kick, Vanaken neatly converted it. The Limburg doubt was tangible for a few minutes. Genk received a second blow. A header by Dewaest on the stroke of half-time was (rightly) rejected because of offside. With the input of Amrabat for the slightly ruined Rits, Leko hoped to gain a foothold in midfield, but it was still the home team that continued to determine the direction of the game and took the initiative. Ten minutes after the break, Genk got a little push. The ball flew against Mechele’s arm in the sixteen. The images seemed to make it clear that the defender was not aware of that, but Boucaut nevertheless pointed to the spot. Malinovski, released from his suspension on Friday, celebrated his hundredth match for Genk with a very important penalty goal. After that it was mainly fighting and biting. The energy seeped softly from Genk’s muscles, but Club Brugge was never able to force goal chances. Genk aimed for the counter and one of those shots was bingo. Ito scooped his cross on the crown of Samatta. With the 3-1 he put himself alone in the lead in the top shooters’ position and assured Genk for at least two more match days of the lead.
Ivan Leko was generous in defeat. “We can’t say anything. This was a well deserved victory for Genk. They were just the better team in everything: power, duels, flashes. We were too soft,” Club’s coach admitted admittedly. “Our first three games were maybe too good We came here to show how good we are and you can’t play like that in the play-offs We have failed collectively We lost the battle in midfield, in the back, on the flanks and in the front. Nobody expected this, this is painful. Now the team needs a reaction “, Leko looked ahead. “Top teams have to show it at the big moments. I have faith in my team, because they have shown it so many times. Head up and from tomorrow even harder and better.”
Antwerp vs Club Brugge KV head to head matches
23.12.18 JL Club Brugge KV Antwerp 5 : 1
19.08.18 JL Antwerp Club Brugge KV 1 : 1
21.01.18 JL Antwerp Club Brugge KV 2 : 2
22.10.17 JL Club Brugge KV Antwerp 1 : 0
08.02.04 JL Club Brugge KV Antwerp 4 : 0