Antwerp vs Anderlecht

Bosuilstadion sets the stage for a mouth-watering Belgian Pro League encounter between Antwerp and Anderlecht.

Antwerp’s 2024/25 Pro League campaign was off to a decent start last weekend as they squeezed past Charleroi 1-0 on Jonas De Roeck’s touchline debut. De Roeck replaced Mark van Bommel in the dugout this summer following Antwerp’s underwhelming sixth-place finish in 2023/24, with the club tasking him to bring home a sixth top-flight title. His top assignment is to rebuild Antwerp’s home fortress, which collapsed numerous times toward the end of last season. The Reds had lost four consecutive home league outings before dispatching none other than Anderlecht 3-1 in their final top-flight game at the Bosuilstadion in 2023/24. That result saw them arrest a disappointing three-game winless H2H streak against this opposition on home turf (D2, L1).

It’s not been long ago since Anderlecht lost back-to-back away league clashes against Antwerp, going down twice in 2021. Therefore, the visitors must take this trip with extreme caution, especially after an unenviable 1-0 home win against perennial strugglers Sint-Truiden on the opening weekend. On top of that, Anderlecht didn’t fare well on their travels at the tail-end of the 2023/24 campaign, finishing the season on a disastrous five-match winless away streak (D2, L3), which eventually cost them the title. Keen to lift the Pro League crown for the first time since 2016/17, the record-time Belgian champions must address their travel sickness. Brian Riemer’s uneventful frontline netted under 1.5 goals in each of those five road trips, highlighting the significance of a stubborn defensive performance.