Club Brugge will be looking to climb to the Belgian Pro League summit with a victory on Friday evening, when they welcome Kortrijk to the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Both sides head into this encounter after drawing their last two league matches prior to October's international break, though the Blauw-Zwart will be the strong favourites to return to winning ways on home soil.
Match preview
© Reuters
There are no surprises to see Club Brugge at the top end of the Belgian Pro League table, though their start to life in the Champions League has been a real eye-opener for their supporters.
Philippe Clement's side claimed a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home against Paris Saint-Germain – who lined up with the fearsome attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar – before securing an impressive 2-1 victory away against RB Leipzig in their second Group A match.
Back-to-back encounters with tournament favourites Manchester City are on the horizon and although Clement will be hoping his side can keep their dream of advancing to the knockout stages alive, he will also be keen to ensure that their performance levels do not drop domestically, as they chase their fourth top-flight title in five years.
Brugge's final match before October's international break saw them claim a 1-1 draw away against title rivals Anderlecht, a game in which Mats Rits's 15th-minute opener was cancelled out by Benito Raman's strike in the 75th minute.
After 10 league games, the Blauw-Zwart sit fourth in the table with 19 points, one point behind leaders Eupen and second-placed Royal Antwerp, who they are to face in just over a weeks' time.
Brugge head into Friday's clash after winning each of their last nine home meetings against Kortrijk, scoring two or more goals on seven occasions. Another victory is expected at the Jan Breydel Stadium and it would see them climb to the summit momentarily, before their title rivals compete over the weekend.
© Reuters
Kortrijk have enjoyed their best Belgian Pro League start since the 2016-17 season, claiming 15 points from their first 10 matches.
De Kerels' last outing before the international break saw them play out an entertaining 2-2 draw at home against Charleroi, a game which witnessed a combined 45 shots on goal including 20 on target.
Luka Elsner's side were leading 2-1 heading into stoppage time, thanks to Faiz Selemani's penalty and a strike from Rachid Alioui, however they were unable to hold on for all three points as Ali Gholizadeh scored a dramatic 95th minute equaliser for the visitors, forcing both sides to share the spoils.
Kortrijk currently sit eighth in the table, four points behind Friday's opponents Club Brugge, who they have failed to beat in each of their last nine meetings.
De Kerels fought valiantly against the 17-time Belgian Pro League champions last season, losing by slender one-goal margins on both occasions. Elsner will be hoping his side can make life challenging for the hosts once again as they aim to claim at least a point on their travels.
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- L
- W
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Club Brugge winger Jose Izquierdo, who is yet to make his debut for the club, remains out with a knee injury, while Ruben Providence is also unavailable with an ankle problem.
Clement could name the same starting lineup which played against Anderlecht earlier this month, which would see Scotland international Jack Hendry partner Stanley Nsoki at centre-back.
Eder Balanta is expected to sit just in front of the back four, with creative midfielders Rits and Hans Vanaken pulling the strings from central areas.
Promising winger Noa Lang – who has been linked with Premier League duo Arsenal and Leeds United – will likely keep his place on the left-wing, joining Kamal Sowah and Charles De Ketelaere in attack; the latter scored his first international goal for Belgium against Italy last week and will be hoping to add to the four league goals he has already scored so far this campaign.
As for Kortrijk, they will be without Jesaja Herrmann, Luqman Hakim, Timothy Derijck, Maxim Deman and Jonah Osabutey due to injury.
Australia international Trent Sainsbury is expected to start alongside Aleksandar Radovanovic at the heart of the defence, shielding goalkeeper Marko Ilic.
Manchester City loanee Marlos Moreno and Selemani are set to operate on the flanks, supporting central striker Habib Gueye, who has scored three goals in his last six league matches.
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Mata, Hendry, Nsoki, Sobol; Vanaken, Balanta, Rits; Sowah, De Ketelaere, Lang
Kortrijk possible starting lineup:
Ilic; Dewaele, Sainsbury, Radovanovic, D'haene; Moreno, Vandendriessche, Fixelles, Palaversa, Selemani; Gueye
We say: Club Brugge 2-0 Kortrijk
Although Brugge will have one eye on their Champions League home clash against Man City next week, Clement is set to name a strong starting lineup on Friday, which we feel will be too strong for Kortrijk.
The Blauw-Zwart have an impressive home record against De Kerels, and another routine victory is seemingly on the cards for them at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Club Brugge win with a probability of 67.77%. A draw had a probability of 17.9% and a win for Kortrijk had a probability of 14.37%.
The most likely scoreline for a Club Brugge win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.65%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.58%) and 1-0 (8.05%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.11%), while for a Kortrijk win it was 1-2 (4.09%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Club Brugge would win this match.
