Charleroi take on the visitors Antwerp Belgian Jupiler Pro League. The match will be played on Sunday, July 28th at Stade du Pays de Charleroi (Charleroi).
Charleroi have occasionally achieved notable results, including qualifying for the Europa League in 2015 and 2020. However, on both occasions, they only managed to get past the first qualifying round before being eliminated by the second opponent. Last season, they finished the regular season in the lower third of the table, which meant they had to fight for survival. Despite this, they performed excellently in the company of relegation-threatened teams, ending with a winning streak of 5 matches. They aim to continue in the same vein under the guidance of Rik De Mil, who had shown promise at Westerlo but left in March amid accusations of organizing a friendly match. At his new club, he started well, though this was only in friendly matches—it's yet to be seen how they'll fare in official games.
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Antwerp failed to defend their titles. The "Great Old" made a strong impression after returning to the country's top division, even winning the Belgian Cup. The real breakthrough came with the arrival of the Dutchmen, Marc Overmars as the sporting director and, on his recommendation, Mark van Bommel as the head coach. This led to a "golden double" in the 2022/2023 season. However, it was clear that it would be harder to stay at the top than to make a surprise climb. While they still won the Supercup and made it to the main round of the Champions League, they finished last in their group, losing almost all their matches. In the cup, their title defense ended with a defeat in the final against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, and in the Jupiler Pro League, the reigning champions fell to 6th place. The task of bringing the team back up falls to De Roeck, ironically also a former Westerlo coach.
In the 2023/2024 season, the teams exchanged thrilling home victories. The Zebras also won 5-2 in the cup. The visitors are considered clear favorites. However, last season highlighted the importance of home-field advantage in this matchup. We predict that the hosts, who are in good form, will manage to avoid defeat.
Prediction for the match: Charleroi not to lose (1X).
