Our prediction for this Belgium Pro League match:
Standard Liege play host to Leuven at their Maurice Dufrasnestadion in the Jupiler League round 32. The Red Devils aim to recover from a massive 5-1 loss to Gent and their fine home record is surely fuelling fans ahead of the visit of Leuven. Both Aiden O’Neill and Nathan Ngoy are sidelined with injuries, while Zinho Vanheusden and Merveille Bokadi are major doubts. Oscar Garcia’s men, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 3-2 loss to Mechelen.
Leuven, on the other hand, are on a three-game winless run on the road and we do not believe that they are capable of spoiling Standard’s party in Liege. In their last meeting at the venue Standard defeated Leuven 1-0 thanks to Aiden O’Neill’s goal. There are no fresh injury concerns in the visiting team ahead of the trip to Liege.
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.