Cercle Brugge vs Westerlo Preview & Prediction
When is Cercle Brugge vs Westerlo on and what time does it start? Cercle Brugge vs Westerlo will take place on Saturday 2September, 2023 – 15:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Cercle Brugge vs Westerlo? Visit each team’s official website for the latest ticket information
Where can I watch Cercle Brugge vs Westerlo in the UK? Cercle Brugge vs Westerlo will not be televised live and cannot be streamed in the UK
THE LOWDOWN
CERCLE BRUGGE
Cercle Brugge reached the top eight and qualified for the end of season UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs last year. Under the management of Miron Muslic, they will be aiming to do the same again and qualify once again with an improved upon squad full of a lot of talent. They are one of the more enjoyable teams to watch in Belgium’s top-flight.
They have started the 2023/24 Jupiler Pro League campaign in fairly inconsistent form with three victories and two defeats so far. They began with a 1-0 loss away to reigning champions Royal Antwerp on the opening day before cruising past struggling Charleroi and then losing to likely title challengers Genk. Since then, though, they have enjoyed back-to-back victories against Standard Liege and Sint-Truiden.
WESTERLO
Westerlo gained promotion to the top-flight of Belgian football back in 2022 and they produced an impressive campaign back in the top tier. They finished in the top eight, qualifying for the end of season UEFA Europa Conference League playoff places, despite losing star striker Lyle Foster to Burnley in the January transfer window, and they did so in entertaining fashion with 116 goals coming in their 34 regular season matches.
Under the management of Jonas De Roeck, Westerlo are expectd to be naturally weaker this time around and they have begun the 2023/24 campaign with just one point in their opening five matches. They shared a 2-2 draw with Eupen on the opening day but have since been beaten by Club Brugge, Gent, Anderlecht and Mechelen. Once again, though, they have been entertaining with four of those five matches featuring both teams scoring.
THE TEAM NEWS
CERCLE BRUGGE
Miron Muslic is dealing with a couple of injuries to Abu Francis and Edgaras Utkus but he will still hope to name quite a similar side to last weekend.
PREDICTED XI (X-X-X-X): Warleson; Popovic, Ravych, Daland; Siquet, Francis, Lopes, Deman; Somers, Denkey, Gboho
UNAVAILABLE: Francis (Injured), Utkus (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
WESTERLO
Jonas De Roeck Will be keen to find some sort of winning formula this weekend but he has a lot of injuries to contend with and already he is dealing with quite a small squad.
PREDICTED XI (4-4-2): Gillekens; Reynolds, Neustadter, Perdichizzi, Rommens; Van den Keymans, Madsen, Van Eenoo, Chadli; Stassin, Frigan
UNAVAILABLE: Bos (Injured), Yow (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Bernat (Injured0, Vaesen (Injured), El Hari (Injured)
THE PREDICTION
Miron Muslic will be hoping that Cercle Brugge finish in the top eight of the Jupiler Pro League at a minimum this season as they seek to build upon last year’s finish. Their strong recent run of form whereby they have managed three victories in their last four matches will e a major concern for a Westerlo side that are struggling badly with the old adage of ‘second season syndrome’. Given their home advantage, too, Cercle are the favourites for this one.
