At the Guldensporen Stadium, we finally managed to get another three-point win. It was certainly not our Kemphans’ finest match, but it was a vital win to stay connected in the running for a Play Off 2 ticket.

KVC Westerlo

In Kortrijk, coach Timmy Simons had the most recent 3 acquisitions – Jungdal, Sakamoto and Slimani – start, partly due to Arthur Piedfort’s last-minute injury.

It was noticeable in this match that the slightest mistake by a Kempen son was punished with a yellow cardboard. As a result, Luka Vuskovic will again be suspended, having also had to miss the match against Antwerp 3 weeks ago.

Emin Bayram, the other central defender, will also have to take a seat in the stands. He was shown a double yellow card – for the second time this season.

In the final hours of the winter mercato, our club was then able to snatch talent Amando Lapage, a central defender, from Anderlecht. The only downside to this: just last weekend he picked up his fifth yellow card at the RSCA Futures and thus he too is suspended against Standard.

Rubin Seigers and Arthur Piedfort continue to work on their rehabilitation, so it will be puzzling for our coaching staff to get the defence on point.

Who we also saw appear on the training pitches this week was Jan Bernat. The Slovakian attacking midfielder played his last game in our club colours on 29 July 2023. Then he appeared on the pitch for 1 minute in Eupen, before being loaned out to Spartak Trnava and Dunajska Streda, where he made a total of 38 appearances, scoring 3 goals and 1 assist.

Our encounters against Standard have been bizarre to say the least. Between 1997 and 2012, we met 32 times, of which we managed to win 4 games and had to return to the dressing room 23 times without points.

When we returned to the Pro League in 2014, the balance fell in our favour. 15 games, 7 wins and only 2 defeats – each time at the Maurice Dufrasnes Stadium in Liege.

Indeed, the last home defeat against Standard was recorded in 2010!

Standard Liège

Personally, I find Standard the most bizarre team of this championship. They played 24 league games in which they only managed to score 17 times, conceded 23 goals and yet they are in a handsome 7th place of the rankings. With this balance, they are the ‘dullest’ team this season. What this will give against the ‘most attractive’ team (Westerlo has 40 for and 42 against), we are very curious to find out.

By the way, the 2 top shooters Zeqiri (8) and Eckert Ayensa (3) were on the Westel radar, following Stassin’s departure earlier this season. However, both men chose to play in the Fiery City.

Coach Leko usually opts for a 3-5-2 style of play with Epolo in goal, Daan Dierckx, Ibe Hautekiet and Henry Lawrence as the central defensive trio. Dierckx got a taste of Serie A in Italy in 2021. He then played seven games (six as a base player) for Parma.

The midfield will in turn be populated by Kuavita, Karamoko and Bulat. The former also spent time in Serie A with Genoa as a young Belgian. He was on the bench once with the first team (loaned by Standard for one season in 23/24). Since this season, he has been a regular in the Liege team.

On the flanks are Marlon Fossey, the American captain who recently received an invitation to Mauricio Pochettino’s American Eagles, and Ilay Camara, who also gets a high weekly quota.

The attack thus consists of the aforementioned Zeqiri and Eckert Ayensa.

Referee

Limburger Bert Put drops down to the Kuipje this week for the first time this season. It will be his fifth appearance on Kempen territory after having the following previous matches on his CV:

– Westerlo vs Beerschot (2019) 1-1

– Westerlo vs Genk ((2022) 0-1

– Westerlo vs Standard (2023) 3-0

– Westerlo vs Cercle Brugge (2024) 4-2

Text and statistics: Peter Boons