1. Anderlecht sera-t-the champion ? NOT
Next May, it will be 8 years since the Mauves celebrated a title. An eternity when we remember that in the era of Roger Vanden Stock, the objective was to be champion every other year. Last season, the Brussels residents missed the boat by losing at home to Club Bruges on the penultimate day of the Champions Playoffs when a success would have certainly led them to a 35th national title. Will David Hubert succeed where Brian Riemer failed?
No. Because Genk and Club Bruges really appear above the rest this year. Of course, dividing the points by two at the end of the classic phase will reshuffle the cards. The Blauw en Zwart proved it last year and the leader of the championship after the first 30 days rarely takes the laurels at the end. But the residents of Lotto Park experience too much difficulty in the top matches. The setback at Genk (2-0) before Christmas proved it again when they had already lost earlier in the season against Limburg (0-2) and Club Bruges (2-1).
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Add to this poor performances against affordable opponents like Boxing Day against Dender or during the trip to Beerschot and we understand better that with the 6 small units ahead of Charleroi, the seventh, the partners of Colin Coosemans will first look behind them at the start of the year.
2. Will Standard be in playdowns? YES
Let us tell each other. No matter what colors we support, no one should hope that Standard goes to playdowns. Because a championship needs its big teams so as not to lose its value in a Pro League that is already less attractive to broadcasters to such an extent that the new TV contract has been revised downwards and will no longer exceed 100 million euros per year.
For Rouches fans too who do not deserve this given their loyalty, we must hope that the number 16 regains color. The problem is that with 4 points ahead of the red zone, Ivan Leko’s men are safe from nothing. While the Croatian technician has already worked miracles in this first part of the season by taking points where we did not expect them, such as against Club Bruges.
What makes us pessimistic is that the Cité Ardente club does not have funds for this winter transfer window and that sports decision-makers will still have to be inventive. Their insane schedule during the last five meetings – with the arrival of Genk, a trip to Club Bruges, the reception of Anderlecht, a trip to Union and Antwerp to Sclessin to finish the classic phase – suggests the worst. We will have to take points during the next four days (Kortrijk, Sint-Truiden, Dender and Cercle) to keep the prospect of playdowns away. But the recent trip to Beerschot showed that there was no easy match for Standard.
3. Will the Union win a European place again? YES
By dint of stringing together exceptional performances since their return to D1 in the summer of 2021, we would almost trivialize the systematic presence each year of the Union Saint-Gilloise in the European Cup. Despite four different coaches in four years with Felice Mazzù, Karel Geraerts, Alexander Blessin and Sébastien Pocognoli. This summer, we believed that the transplant would not take.
After a more than sluggish start to the season with the elimination against the affordable Slavia Prague in the Champions League preliminary and a single victory in the championship between August 25 and November 10, the unionist boat sank without breaking or sinking. The great strength of this team is being present during shocks. Genk (4-0), Antwerp (2-1) and recently Ghent (1-3) can attest to this.
As the final sprint approaches, the USG has moved into the top 6 at the best of times even if the balance remains precarious. She seems to have found her cruising speed. And given their appetite against the big guys, the playoffs 1 this time are not likely to be fatal to their ambitions unlike the previous vintage.
4. Will Charleroi advance to playoffs 1? YES
Rik De Mil does not want to hear about it for the moment. “I don’t look at the rankings. It’s way too early. In this championship, you are never sure of anything. With two consecutive defeats, you could be back in trouble.”he declared before the last match of the calendar year. Except that his team had two victories against Saint-Trond and Kortrijk, remaining competitors.
The Zebras therefore find themselves only 3 points behind the top 6 despite their huge gap in October. With what they have shown in the game since the start of the year, reaching the Champions Playoffs for the first time since 2020, even if they had not taken place with Covid, hardly seems utopian. Especially if Mehdi Bayat offers his coach an attacker capable of scoring a lot of goals unlike last summer.
5. Will a Belgian club reach the last four of a European competition? YES
Last May, Club Bruges set an example by becoming the first Belgian club to reach the last four of a European Cup since Antwerp in 1993. Will such a feat be repeated in next spring? For the Blauw en Zwart, this seems utopian. With two final days against Juventus and Manchester City to close the league phase, Nicky Hayen and his leaders would already be happy to finish in a top 24 where he currently occupies 19th position ahead of opponents like Real Madrid, the Citizens and PSG.
For Anderlecht, on the other hand, hopes exist and are numerous. In the Europa League, the Mauves are flying, as their third position proves. “We want to win it.”had even confided David Hubert on the eve of the Porto reception. Their course should allow them to avoid the play-offs and go directly to the round of 16. This is clearly Belgium’s best chance to go as far as possible in Europe this season while their Unionist neighbors are scrambling to stay in the top 24.
In the Conference League, Ghent will have to contend with Bétis Sevilla and then Chelsea in the play-off, which makes their desires fruitless. Unlike the Circle, already in the eighth, which will inherit a favorable draw.
6. Will Felice Mazzù save Sint-Truiden? YES
Six months after his ouster from Charleroi, Felice Mazzù found a bench in Saint-Trond in September. Under Christian Lattanzio, the Trudonnaires had a catastrophic start to the championship with a 3/18. Since then, the Hennuyer coach has redressed the situation by taking one point per match. Not enough to get the Canaries out of the red zone. Facing Cercle, who are ahead of them by two units, the Limburgers trembled during Boxing Day but they managed to equalize at the end of the match.
Currently antepenultimate, the STVV will fight to the end to maintain its position. With its Japanese shareholders, Mazzù can expect to receive reinforcement during the upcoming transfer market. If this will perhaps not be enough to avoid the playdowns, T1 should however manage to save itself as Beerschot, prey to financial problems, and Kortrijk seem well below while the relegation play-off faces the winner of the play-offs of the D1B certainly benefits the resident of the elite.
