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Belgian Pro League | Gameweek 19
Feb 2, 2022 at 5.45pm UK
Guldensporenstadion
Royal Antwerp

Kortrijk
0 - 2
Antwerp


Torp (57'), Belhocine (69'), D'Haene (70')
Kadri (68')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Samatta (18'), Gerkens (90+1')
Dessoleil (59')
Verstraete (10')

Preview: Kortrijk vs. Royal Antwerp - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Belgian Pro League clash between Kortrijk and Royal Antwerp, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

On Sunday, Kortrijk will look to win their fourth consecutive league game when they welcome Royal Antwerp to the Guldensporen Stadion.

Meanwhile, third-placed Antwerp will be aiming to continue their promising run of form after losing just once in their last five league games.


Match preview

Royal Antwerp's Radja Nainggolan celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on November 25, 2021© Reuters

After playing their last three competitive matches away from home, Kortrijk will return to familiar surroundings this weekend as they look to continue a run of positive results after losing just once in their last nine league games.

Last weekend, an Ante Palaversa effort and a Faiz Selemani spot-kick guided Kortrijk to a 2-0 victory away to RFC Seraing.

Although, the home dressing room will be slightly downbeat after exiting the Belgian Cup at the quarter-finals stage following a disappointing 3-0 away defeat against Anderlecht.

Karim Belhocine may have been frustrated with his side's performance in midweek, but he will be pleased with Kortrijk's efforts in the league, having accumulated 31 points from their 20 games - they look set to pass last season's 39 point tally with ease.

Resolute defensive performances have been key this season, with Kortrijk keeping seven clean sheets so far this term - only Union SG have more shutouts to their name.

As for Antwerp, they have finished in the top four in the last three seasons and that run looks set to continue this term.

Sunday's visitors enter the fixture in third place and they will look to extend their current unbeaten away run to four games in all competitions.

In their last outing, Antwerp salvaged a point against Genk in the 82nd minute thanks to Viktor Fischer's equaliser, which cancelled out Paul Onuachu's opener.

Like their opponents, they have also defended admirably after keeping six clean sheets this season, with three of those resulting from away fixtures.

After losing only two of their last nine away league games, Brian Priske will be confident that his side can pick up at least a point on Sunday.

Kortrijk Belgian Pro League form:
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W

Kortrijk form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L

Royal Antwerp Belgian Pro League form:
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D

Royal Antwerp form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D



Team News

The hosts are expected to be without the services of Eric Ocansey and Rachid Alioui due to injury issues.

Pape Habib Gueye is also out injured, with the forward expected to be absent until February.

Although Dylan Mbayo began last weekend's encounter against Seraing on the bench, he started the cup tie in midweek and is expected to retain his place for Sunday's contest.

As for the visitors, they will have to cope without Ritchie De Laet, who will miss the game due to suspension.

De Laet's absence could mean that Jelle Bataille moves over to right-back, while Sam Vines is expected to come into the left-back spot.

Michel Frey has scored 15 league goals this term, and he will look to add to that tally when he leads the line at the weekend.

Kortrijk possible starting lineup:
Ilic; Dewaele, Sainsbury, Radovanovic, D'Haene; Vandendriessche, Palaversa, Kadri; Mbayo, Selemanie, Badamosi

Royal Antwerp possible starting lineup:
Butez; Bataille, Engles, Almeida, Vine; Yusuf, Verstraete, Fischer; Benson, Balikwisha, Frey


SM words green background

We say: Kortrijk 1-2 Royal Antwerp

Royal Antwerp have fared well in recent away games against Kortrijk, winning their last three away games against Sunday's opponents, and we think that they will collect another victory at the weekend.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



ID:473725:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8659:
Written by
Ben Sully

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 Royal Antwerp win with a probability of 41.23%. A win for Kortrijk had a probability of 32.75% and a draw had a probability of 26%.

The most likely scoreline for a Royal Antwerp win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.73%) and 0-2 (7.11%). The likeliest Kortrijk win was 1-0 (8.76%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.37%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Royal Antwerp would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Kortrijk vs Antwerp

Kortrijk
29.7%
Draw
18.9%
Royal Antwerp
51.4%
37
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Royal Antwerp head coach Ivan Leko pictured on November 5, 2020
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4Royal AntwerpAntwerp1683529141527
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6Union SGUnion SG165832014623
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11CharleroiCharleroi165381520-518
12Dender164661928-918
13Sint-Truiden164662233-1118
14KortrijkKortrijk165291330-1717
15Cercle BruggeCercle Brugge164391830-1215
16Beerschot WilrijkBeerschot VA1624101536-2110


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