Our prediction for this Belgium Pro League match:
Standard Liege will try to recover from a 3-1 loss to Leuven when they take on Westerlo on Friday evening. The Red Devils failed to win the previous seven league matches and, as a result, they have little to play for in the season finale. Midfielder William Balikwisha is widely expected to return to the starting XI, while both Aiden O’Neill and Nathan Ngoy are sidelined with injuries. All Zinho Vanheusden, Merveille Bokadi, and Laurent Henkinet are major doubts.
Bart Goor’s men, on the other hand, are stuck at the bottom of the table with only 18 points on their account. As Standard Liege will not have a better chance than this to return to winning ways, home win should be considered. The good news for the visitors is that Turkey midfielder Dogucan Haspolat is back from suspension, while Matija Frigan is pushing for a start.
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.