Our prediction for this Belgium Pro League match:
Westerlo will aim to extend their impressive home form as they host Gent in Jupiler Pro League round 16. The hosts have recorded back-to-back home victories, outplaying both Dender and Kortrijk with confidence. England midfielder Alfie Devine has been a standout performer, with his brace against De Kerels and is likely to prove a handful for the opposition back-line. With momentum on their side, Westerlo are full of confidence heading into this clash.
Gent, on the other hand, aim to make amends for a humbling 6-0 defeat to Anderlecht, a result that exposed defensive problems and left their confidence in tatters. The visitors will also be without key players Jordan Torunarigha and Matisse Samoise, both banned for this encounter, further complicating manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s task of inspiring a turnaround. Taking everything into account, we predict that Westerlo are going to extend their winning run at home to three games.
Highlighted Player (Sven Kums):
Belgian defender Sven Kums began his youth career at Dilbeek Sport and in 1996 he joined Anderlecht. Despite spending seven years at the club, he did not see any game action with the Belgian giants at senior level. After ending his loan spells with the likes of Lierse and Kortrijk, he signed a permanent deal with de Kerels in 2008.
The 176-cm-tall midfielder, who was born on 26 February, 1988, scored 12 goals in 116 league appearances for Kortrijk and in 2011 he moved to Netherlands, signing a contract with Heerenveen. In 2013 he returned to Belgium, joining Zulte Waregem.
In the summer of 2014 he moved to fellow Belgian outfit Gent and at the end of the 2015/2016 season he signed a loan deal with Udinese. Kums has 12 caps for Belgium U21 and it has to be noted that his father Ludo Kums is working as a coach at Anderlecht. Sven Kums is a centre midfielder, but he plays as both attacking midfielder and defensive midfielder as well.
Highlighted Team (Gent):
Gent are a Belgian football club that plays their home games at Ghelamco Arena. The venue has been the club’s home ground since 2013 and the capacity of the stadium is 20 000. De Buffalo’s participate in the Belgian Pro League and they clinched their first domestic trophy in the 2014/2015 season.
Gent finished the regular part of the season in second place in the standings, but they eventually climbed to the top position in the table in the play-off. The club won their third Belgian Cup trophy in 2010 and it has to be noted that they defeated Club Brugge in the Belgian Super Cup in 2015. Laurent Depoitre scored the winner for Gent three minutes before the final whistle.
A number of top-class players were part of the team in the past and the likes of Victor Fernandez, Johan Boskamp, Bob Peeters, Trond Sollied and Michel Preud’homme are some of notable footballers who played for Gent in the past.