Our prediction for this Belgium Pro League match:
Friday’s football game between Standard Liege and Mechelen will open round 3 of the new Jupiler League campaign. The Red Devils did well to shock title holders Club Brugge at the weekend and, as a result, the odds for home win have been dropping. Summer signing Sotiris Alexandropoulos is pushing for his first Jupiler League start, while there are no fresh injury worries in the home team.
De Kakkers, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 4-2 loss to Westerlo, which is yet another reason why we are going to bet on the hosts. In their last meeting in the Belgian top flight Mechelen defeated Standard Liege 3-2, meaning that the hosts are hungry for revenge. The likes of Antonio, Falchou, Konate, and Van Cleemput have been struggling with injuries of late, speaking of the away team.
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.