Surprising: this Sunday, Sporting Charleroi goes to Sclessin… as favorite, according to all the bookmakers. Proof of a very different first part of the season for the two clubs.
We do not have a preferred commercial partner in terms of betting, and therefore checked everywhere: according to all online betting sites, Sporting Charleroi is the favorite for this Walloon clash. Outside, in the Sclessin cauldron that we expect to be boiling hot this Sunday!
This is the first time in a long time – since the years when Sporting played in the top 6 – that Charleroi will arrive with this status at Standard. And this despite the fact that the two teams are not that far apart in the rankings: in the event of a victory, the Rouches will overtake the Zèbras by one point and will even get closer to the top 6.
How to explain such a dynamic? Of course, Standard has not won in three games and remains on two consecutive defeats, including one at home against Westerlo. But Charleroi also remains in three games without a victory and even lost to Dender, the surprising promotion at the start of the season. We clearly cannot talk about a team with confidence traveling to a rival in poor form.
Charleroi is less sick than Standard
It is rather proof of a “state of mind” which surrounds Standard at the moment: the declarations of Ivan Leko, the non-existent background of play, executives who no longer really respond. The Rouches are sick, and are experiencing the setbacks of a start to the season that no one expected to be so good.
Mathieu Epolo, brilliant during many matches, begins to crack under the pressure of Arnaud Bodart’s succession; the new Liège attackers have not yet found the recipe which should allow them to pile up goals. Leko and his personality take up a lot of space and annoy a lot of people, in the stands as well as at the club, and the Croatian knows well that he is dancing on the edge of emptiness: a bad series and his noisy declarations will make him a target.
On the Charleroi side, it’s the opposite: despite the surprisingly bad results in recent weeks, no one questions Rik De Mil whose work is impressive. The serenity that emanates from the RCSC, including in the stands while the Storm Ultras have long been openly severe towards their management, is surprising.
Only the defeat at Dender was a real poor performance: draws against Anderlecht and Club Brugge are nothing to worry about. Before that, Charleroi had the face of a team which will be in the race for the top 6 if it continues on this path. Rik De Mil’s plan is clear and well in place. So, Charleroi favorite in Sclessin? Actually… it makes sense. And it’s an additional blow to the ego of Liège supporters…
