Our prediction for this Belgium Pro League match:
Standard Liege and St. Truiden go head to head at Maurice Dufrasnestadion in what is expected to be a close encounter. The Red Devils failed to turn their dominance into goals in a goalless draw with Mechelen, with the team extending their winless run to five games. Konstantinos Laifis limped off with injury in the midweek clash, with Gilles Dewaele likely to step up. All Marlon Fossey, Aiden O’Neill, Laurent Henkinet, and Nathan Ngoy are out of contention with injuries.
The Canaries, on the other hand, suffered a dip in form, with the team losing to both Leuven and Gent in the previous two league matches. St. Truiden and Standard Liege, though, seem to be evenly matched at the moment and we predict that they are going to share the spoils in Saturday’s encounter. Both Shinji Okazaki and Rein Van Helden are out of contention with injuries for the visiting 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.