The defenders
Sardella, the marathon runner, Smets the most consistent
Three Pro League defenders were taken over by Tedesco. Replacing Joaquin Seys, Killian Sardella is the Devil to have played the most minutes for the club since the start of the season. It must be said that the Anderlecht player has become a fixture at Lotto Park. Matte Smets, whom Hein Vanhaezebrouck sees as “our best defender in the future”is for his part the outfield player who can boast of having the highest percentage of playing time. Proof that Thorsten Fink cannot do without the teenager in his rearguard at Genk.
Maxim De Cuyper, scorer against Italy in October, already has a lot of minutes under his belt this season too. Unlike last year, however, the full-back is less decisive with Club Bruges for the moment. Although he scored 5 goals and provided 15 assists last season, he only has one assist to his name during this campaign. Ameen Al Dakhil and Timothy Castagne arrived in Tubize, short of competition. They are both looking for playing time at Stuttgart and Sporting Portugal respectively. As for Wout Faes, Zeno Debast and Arthur Theate, they all assume a starting place with more or less success. The last one was, at the end of October, expelled twice in the space of three days…
The environments
Engels the nice surprise, Lavia gains strength
Sambi Lokonga hopes that the physical problems are behind him. In any case, he is back with the Devils for the first time since March 2022. After another hamstring injury in September, the midfielder finally played a few matches. His situation is reminiscent of that of Romeo Lavia. Even if he had to leave prematurely against Arsenal, the Chelsea player is gaining momentum for the moment with the Blues where he forms a duo with Moises Caicedo. The severity of his injury remains to be assessed.
Absent in October, Amadou Onana also forms a pair with Youri Tielemans (injured) at Aston Villa. The two men are in an excellent dynamic in Birmingham. Orel Mangala and Arthur Vermeeren failed to win at Everton and RB Leipzig respectively. Unlike Arne Engels who feels like a fish in water at Celtic. The former Bruges resident, who arrived in Glasgow this summer from Augsburg, is breaking down the house. Deployed in the midfield, he has already delivered 6 assists and found the net 3 times. He is decisive every 118 minutes. He may well be the Belgian revelation of this start of the season.
Matte Smets, Genk revelation and the man who angered France’s Konaté: ‘Lukaku asked me where I play’
The attackers
Lukaku is decisive but whistled
Among the group selected by Tedesco, Loïs Openda is the top scorer with six goals. The Leipzig striker has had a consistent performance since the start of the season. This is not the case, for example, of Johan Bakayoko, who went through a long period of drought with PSV. Fortunately for him, he turned the switch perfectly last week, scoring a goal against Girona in the Champions League and then another against Willem II in the Eredivisie.
If Sevilla FC does not find itself in the red zone currently in La Liga, it is thanks to Dodi Lukebakio. The former Anderlecht player scored 5 in the league for the Andalusians. The last three brought 6 points… The newcomer, Samuel Mbangula, alternates between the bench and a place on the field. If he impressed as a starter in August, he is used more as a substitute now at Juventus. Status that Leandro Trossard could also find in London. During the absence of Martin Odegaard at Arsenal, the ex-Genkois was moved to different positions in Mikel Arteta’s offensive line. Without ever convincing. He hasn’t scored since… the match between Belgium and Italy in October.
Romelu Lukaku is therefore back. Despite his 4 goals and 6 assists with Naples, he is still running behind his best form. Normal for a player who was not able to fully participate in preparation this summer. Decisive only once in the last five weeks, he has even had to face a few whistles from his own public recently. This gathering constitutes, for the captain, the perfect opportunity to rebuild his capital confidence.
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