Read our prediction for Cercle Brugge KSV vs Antwerp below. This preview was written by a sport journalist who is specialised in betting tips and predictions. Use our betting tips for the match between Cercle Brugge KSV vs Antwerp and you can increase your winnings!
Cercle Brugge KSV vs Antwerp Prediction & Betting tips
No relegated team, but two promoted teams were the result of the discontinued season in the Jupiler League. In 2020/21 18 teams will be represented in the Belgian upper house of football. Last weekend the kick-off for the new season sounded and delivered some surprising results right from the start. In this game preview we focus on the game between Cercle Brugge and Antwerp.
Even in the third year after returning to the top division, the relegation battle will in all likelihood be the determining topic at Club Brugge. The guests from Antwerp, on the other hand, will want to orient themselves towards the top group again. Accordingly, the betting base comparison of odds between Cercle Brugge and Antwerp provides clear advantages for the guests in terms of odds. The game starts on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Cercle Bruges:
Together with city rivals Club Bruges, the club has to share the Jan-Breydel Stadium, but no other similarities can be identified. While Club Brugge is at the top of Belgian football, Cercle Brugge can be found at the bottom of the table. After 14 game days last season, there were only four points on the books, but the team was still able to keep the league in terms of sport and did not need a league increase.
Despite the strongly rising form under the German head coach Bernd Storck (led Hungary to the EM 2016 among others), there was a coach change in the summer. Storck left Belgium at his own request and signed on with Dunajska Streda, and a resounding name was signed as his successor – Paul Clement. The Englishman has already worked as an assistant coach at PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern under Carlo Ancelotti.
As head coach, he has so far only coached on the island (Derby County, Swansea and Reading), the adventure in Bruges will be his first international engagement as head coach. Miracles are not to be expected, but with such a renowned coach, the club hopes to get rid of all relegation worries early on.
After a forced break for months, the underdog was surprisingly strong in the away game against Standard Liège. There was a 0-1 defeat against the fifth in the table last season, but the team around Kylian Hazard (youngest brother of Eden and Thorgan) was largely on an equal footing.
Once again, however, it became clear that the team lacks a striker with a built-in goalie. Only 27 goals were scored in the previous year, which is less than one goal per game on average. In view of these numbers between Cercle Brugge and Antwerp, the odds for the tip that both teams do not score are surprisingly high. In the event of success, there is more than double the effort.
Antwerp:
A week before the start of the league, Royal Antwerp returned to the football stage and played one of the most important games in the club’s recent history. The cup final was still pending and was scheduled for August 1st, while Antwerp prevented Club Bruges from winning a double. Thanks to a goal from Lior Refaelov, the underdog was crowned cup winner – the third cup win and the first success since 1992.
Despite the outstanding fourth place in the table in the third year after returning to the league (previously eighth and sixth) and moving into the cup final, the Romanian head coach Laszlo Bölöni and Royal Antwerp parted ways during the Corona break.
Ivan Leko, a coach who has already enjoyed great success at Club Bruges, but has in the meantime also come into conflict with the law and was accused of tax evasion and corruption, was hired as his successor. After his engagement in Bruges, he worked for six months in the desert near Al-Ain before returning to his adopted home.
In today’s football, there is often the feeling that the players still have to get younger. Players in their late twenties are often labeled as “old iron”. From an economic point of view, young talents ideally generate high transfer revenues, of course, but this only happens if the team is successful.
The youth craze is not to be seen in Antwerp, rather the team acts with seasoned actors. Top striker Dieumerci Mbokani (formerly Wolfsburg) is already 34 years old, but cup hero Lior Refealov (34), captain Faris Haroun (34), defender Ritchie de Laet (31) and winger Nill de Pauw (30) are also familiar with their experience important framework.
The first matchday was a little disappointing when Antwerp had to be content with a 1-1 draw against Royal Excel Mouscron. A win in Bruges will therefore be important, otherwise it is easy to talk about a false start.
Cercle Brugge KSV vs Antwerp head to head matches
19.01.20 JL Cercle Brugge KSV Antwerp 1 : 2
21.09.19 JL Antwerp Cercle Brugge KSV 3 : 1
09.12.18 JL Cercle Brugge KSV Antwerp 0 : 3
25.08.18 JL Antwerp Cercle Brugge KSV 1 : 0
15.01.17 PL Cercle Brugge KSV Antwerp 0 : 1