KVC Westerlo – Club Brugge

After taking all three points from Leuven last week, another tough opponent now awaits. Club Brugge visit ’t Kuipje on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. Can we record a home victory against the blue-and-blacks for the first time since October 3, 1999?

KVC Westerlo

Euphoria. There is no better word to describe the atmosphere after last weekend’s victory in Leuven. The away end kept singing long after the final whistle. Coach Charaï also noticed and clearly appreciated the support from the fans: “I really want to thank the supporters, they showed up in large numbers. They helped us enormously.”

From a footballing perspective, last Saturday might not have been the best performance our Kemphanen have produced this season, but defensively the team stood firm. “We gave away too many free kicks and corners. But then it’s a matter of defending well and winning your duels,” said a satisfied Charaï. Thanks to that performance, Jungdal kept a clean sheet for the tenth time this season. Only Union goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen has done better.

At the moment, our Kemphanen are ninth with 38 points, level with Genk (8th) and Standard (7th), and just one point behind sixth place. Everything is still possible in the race for the Champions’ Play-offs. Looking at the statistics, Westerlo would even have spent almost the entire season in the top six based on expected points. “We mainly focus on ourselves. Nobody expects us to be there. We want to make progress every week and then we’ll see where we end up,” said our coach, who is trying to keep the pressure off his players. For this weekend’s match, Nacho Ferri returns from suspension. Clinton Nsiala still has two matches left to serve.

Selection: Jungdal, Van Langendonck, Annell, Haidara, Lapage, Kimura, Reynolds, Mbamba, Ndembi, Ourega, Neustädter, Bayram, Sydorchuk, Laalaoui, Smekens, Haspolat, Van den Keybus, Piedfort, Sayyadmanesh, Patrão, Bohamdi-Kamoni, Sakamoto, Goure, Saito, Alcocer, Ferri & Destan

Club Brugge

With two matchdays remaining, the Bruges side have already secured their place in the Champions’ Play-offs. They currently sit second in the standings with 57 points, three fewer than leaders Union. The blue-and-blacks can rely on a fully fit squad and have no suspended players. The danger can come from anywhere in the Brugge team, but a few players stand out: Ordóñez (3 goals), Hans Vanaken (4 goals, 1 assist), winger Christos Tzolis (8 goals, 11 assists) and Tresoldi (11 goals, 3 assists).

Starting line-up last match (4-3-3): Mignolet, Sabbe, Ordóñez, Mechele, Seys, Stanković, Vanaken, Onyedika, Forbs, Tresoldi, Tzolis.

The first leg

The reverse fixture between Club Brugge and KVC Westerlo took place on matchday five. It was a spectacular match that we will remember for a long time. KVC Westerlo started strongly and took the lead after just 25 seconds through Alcócer. Just before halftime, Ferri doubled the lead with a deflected shot. Shortly afterwards, however, Tresoldi pulled one back for Brugge (1–2).

After the break, a real goal festival followed. The blue-and-blacks quickly turned the deficit into a 3–2 lead thanks to goals from Forbs and Seys. But Charaï’s men did not give up: around the hour mark Ferri made it 3–3 with a well-placed header, and not long after that Sakamoto put KVC Westerlo back in front (3–4). In the closing stages, Tresoldi scored again for Club Brugge to equalize (4–4). In a crazy period of stoppage time, Club Brugge seemed to have won the match when Bayram turned a cross from Meier into his own net (5–4). But in the very last second, that same Bayram made up for his mistake by bundling the ball into the net in a scramble to make it 5–5.

Did you know…

• Ten different nationalities were represented in KVC Westerlo’s starting line-up during last matchday’s game against OH Leuven.
• Our draw in the reverse fixture was only the third time this century that a Belgian top-flight match ended 5–5.
• KVC Westerlo and Club Brugge have had several players who represented both clubs, such as Nabil Dirar (KVC Westerlo: 2006–2008 | Club Brugge: 2008–2012) and Tuur Dierckx (KVC Westerlo: 2020–2023 | Club Brugge: 2009–2016).
• Our midfielder Thomas Van den Keybus is a youth product of Club Brugge. He once played five matches for their first team.

Referees

The referee for this match is Bram Van Driessche. His assistants on the touchlines are Yves De Neve and Quentin Blaise, while Massimiliano Ledda will be the fourth official. The VAR in Tubeke will be operated by Brent Staessens.

We have already encountered Van Driessche twice this season. Both matches ended in victories: 0–3 away at STVV and 0–1 in Zulte Waregem. In total, Van Driessche has officiated twenty matches involving KVC Westerlo. We won 7 of them, drew 8 and lost only 5.