Our prediction for this Belgium Pro League match:
Standard Liege will be looking to make amends for an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Antwerp when they take on Genk in yet another Jupiler League derby. The Red Devils are desperate to get back on course and we are positive that they will adopt an attack-minded approach in Saturday’s encounter. Zinho Vanheusden misses out through suspension, while Nathan Ngoy is widely expected to replace Merveille Bope Bokadi in the starting XI.
De Smurfen, meanwhile, recorded a routine 3-1 win over Leuven before the international break to keep their title hopes alive. Anyhow, Genk are more of a team than Standard Liege and we predict that the visitors are going to emerge triumphant in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne showdown. A man to watch in the away team will be midfielder Bryan Heynen, who scored a brace in the last league match, while Wouter Vrancken has no fresh injury worries.
Highlighted Player (Patrik Hrosovsky):
Born in Prievidza, Czechoslovakia, Patrik Hrosovsky is a midfielder who plays for Viktoria Plzen. Patrik Hrosovsky started his youth career at his hometown club Prievidza and he played for the youth team of Trencin as well before joining Viktoria Plzen.
The Slovakian footballer has been playing for the Viktorka ever since, but it has to be noted that he played for the likes of Sokolov, Usti nad Labem and Znojmo on loan as well. Patrik Hrosovsky made his Slovakia debut on November 19, 2014 in a friendly game against Finland.
His main position is central midfield, but he is capable of playing as both defensive midfielder and attacking midfielder as well. Hrosovsky has yet to find the net with the Slovakia national football team, but he found the net for the U21 team in a 7-1 win over Luxembourg at the 2015 European Championship. He has a contract with Viktoria Plzen which expires on June 30, 2019.
Highlighted Team (St Liege):
Standard are a Belgian football club based in Liege. The club was founded back in 1898 and 11 years later they joined Belgian First League. Les Rouches (the Reds) immediately dropped to the lower leagues, but in 1921 they returned to the Belgian top flight. Standard won their first Belgian League trophy in 1958, but you should have in mind that they were level on points with second-placed Royal Antwerp.
In 2009 the Reds clinched their tenth domestic title, beating Anderlecht in the title game. Talented midfielder Axel Witsel scored the winner for Standard in the 1-0 triumph over their bitter rivals. Standard play their home games at Stade Maurice Dufrasne, the venue that was opened in 1909. The capacity of the stadium is 30 023.
Maurice Dufrasne was the club’s chairman from 1909 until 1931. Speaking of the club’s European success, Standard participated in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1982, losing to La Liga giants Barcelona in the title game.