Sunday afternoon will see the fourth match of the Champions' Play-Offs. Club Brugge will visit leaders Antwerp!
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The match
For the very first meeting between Club and Antwerp, or FC Brugeois and Antwerp FC, we have to go back to 1896. That's when the first edition of the Belgian First Division, the "Coupe du Championnat," took place.
This weekend, Club Brugge faces Antwerp for the second time in a row, which also makes it the 170th duel between the teams. Of the previous 84 home games against the Reds, FCB was able to win 49 times, drew 17 times and suffered 18 defeats. If Club takes the three points on Sunday, it can chalk up a 50th home win against Antwerp.
With 3 goals in this final campaign, Hans Vanaken is the top shooter. He has scored a total of 23 times in the Playoffs, making him the all-time top shooter in the final competition.
Rik De Mil cannot count on Ferran Jutglà on Sunday, he dropped out injured. Noa Lang and Raphael Onyedika must avoid a yellow card if they do not want to miss the home game against Genk.
The opponent
Sunday's opponent is a tough customer. Antwerp has not lost yet during these Champions' Playoffs and climbed to first place. In the past three games Antwerp has already scored 7 goals. Remarkable: each time a different player scored.
The top shooter of RAFC, Vincent Janssens, is now at 17. The assistant king is Jurgen Ekkelenkamp with 7 decisive passes.
Milestones
- Raphael Onyedika can play his 30th league match for Club.
- For Mats Rits, it could be his 325th game in the Jupiler Pro League. He played 23 for Germinal Beerschot, 155 for KV Mechelen and 146 for Club.
- Simon Mignolet can play the 600th official game in his club career! He appeared 106 times for STVV, 101 times for Sunderland, 204 times for Liverpool and it could be his 189th match for Club Brugge on Sunday.
Referee
Bram Van Driessche will referee Sunday's topper against Antwerp. He will be assisted by linesmen Romain Devillers and Ruben Wyns, fourth ref is Kevin Van Damme. The VAR on duty is Jasper Vergoote and will be flanked by Ella De Vries and Christophe Snoeck.
Van Driessche will lead a Club Brugge game for the 23rdtime and one by Antwerp for the 28th time. He has already refereed two previous games between Club and Antwerp.
