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Charleroi - Club: Club Facts

Jupiler Pro League

Our first league away game of 2024 takes us to Sporting Charleroi. In this article you'll get to know everything about this fixture and the opponent!

The game

Mambourg is the venue for our first away match of the year in the Jupiler Pro League. Club Brugge will face Sporting Charleroi for the 108th time in the highest division. 

Club has won 25 of its previous 53 games in Charleroi. 17 times the points were shared; 11 times did Charleroi keep the three points at home. 

FCB hasn't lost in its previous four visits to Mambourg (2W 2D). Last season it won 1-3, despite an early lead for the home team through Ryota Morioka. Two goals from Ferran Jutglà and one from Casper Nielsen turned the tide.

This season in Jan Breydel, the Zebras again managed to take the lead, twice even, after goals from Parfait Guiagan and Vetle Dragsnes. The first equaliser from Club came via Igor Thiago, the second via Brandon Mechele. In the closing stages of the game, goals by Antonia Nusa and Ferran Jutglà made sure the three points stayed in Bruges (4-2). 

Club Brugge is now unbeaten in 14 official matches in a row. In all these games, Club scored 30 goals, and conceded not more than 3. Igor Thiago is now Blue & Black's top scorer in the Jupiler Pro League with 13 goals. Against KVC Westerlo, he scored (at least) two goals in one game for the fifth time already this season. 
Our Brazilian striker found the back of the net in all of Bruges' six last official games. Only three players in the history of Club Brugge managed to set a longer scoring streak:

1. Raoul Lambert 10x (19/03/1970 - 06/09/1970)
2. Lucien Masyn 8x (28/10/1951 - 23/12/1951) [Tweede klasse]
3. Andrés Mendoza 7x (05/04/2002 - 31/07/2002)
4. Igor Thiago 6x (14/12/2023 - 20/01/2024)

Philip Zinckernagel is the new Blue-Black king of assists after the game against Westerlo. He has six assists so far, one more than Maxim De Cuyper.  

The opponent

Sporting Charleroi will be hosting us on Saturday night for the 22nd match week in the Jupiler Pro League. Last season, this fixture also took place in gameweek 22. 

Sporting Charleroi has the worst away record in the league this season. It has gathered only three points on the road so far, and hasn't won an away game yet. At home, however, the Zebra's do significantly better with 18 out of 30. Only 5 teams took more points at home. They defeated KV Kortrijk (1-0), R.W.D.M. (2-1), Antwerp (3-2), KVC Westerlo (3-2) and KV Mechelen (3-1), and drew against OHL, Standard and STVV (3x 1-1). Gent and Union are the only teams that have won at Mambourg this season (both 1-3). 

Marco Ilaimaharitra is the top scorer at Charleroi, alongside Oday Dabbagh. Both have 4 goals on their tallies. However, manager Felice Mazzu cannot count on either of them. Ilaimaharitra received his fifth yellow card of the season against Antwerp last week, and is suspended. Dabbagh is playing in the AFC Asian Cup for his mother country Palestine. The attacker even scored twice in the last group game against Hong Kong. Palestine is through to the 1/8th finals, where they will face host country Qatar. 

Furthermore, Charleroi is without its goalkeeper Hervé Koffi. He is playing with Burkina-Faso in the Africa Cup. After starting all group games, his next opponent is Mali in the 1/8th finals. In the meantime, Frenchman Pierre Patron is replacing him between the posts for the Carolo's. In his first game after New Year, he got beaten four times by Antwerp. That game ended 4-1, after Antoine Bernier's pulled one back in the final minutes. 

Adem Zorgane gave the most assists for the Carolo's. He could play his 90th game in the Jupiler Pro League against Bruges. 

Milestones

  • Hans Vanaken could play his 425th match for Club. If he scores, it will be his 125th goal in Blue & Black. It would also be his 320th league game for Club.
  • Philip Zinckernagel could play his 20th league game for Bruges.
  • Maxim De Cuyper could play his 60th game in the Jupiler Pro League. He has played 39 for KVC Westerlo and 20 for Club Brugge so far.

The referee

Bert Put was appointed as referee for this game. He will be assisted by linesmen Koen Thijs and Lennert Becquet, and by fourth official Michiel Allaerts. Nathan Verboomen is the VAR, helped by Mathias Hillaert and Glenn Claes.

Earlier this season, Put was in charge of our home game against KV Mechelen (1-1).