It's matchday 9 in the Jupiler Pro League and Blauw-Zwart travels to Liège for the clash with Standard. Learn more about this fixture with our Club Facts!
The fixture
Club Brugge take on Standard on Saturday, which will be the 193rd confrontation in the Belgian first division. Club hasn't played more games against any other team. The previous 96 away games at Sclessin resulted in 25 victories, 21 draws and 50 defeats. Club's last win at Liège already dates back to January 22 2017 (0-3). Since then Club hasn't been able to win its last ten away fixtures against Liège, losing the last three. The most recent defeat (1-0) was on 4 August 2024.
Last season Club had it rough against les Rouches with a 1-0 defeat away (Marko Bulat) and a 1-2 home defeat (Zeqiri and Ayensa for Standard, Jutgá for Club). Club's current form is shaky at the moment with a spectacular 5-5 home draw against Westerlo as an example. It was the first time in seven home games that Club couldn't keep the three points home.
Club are currently third in the league with fourteen points out of eight games (4W, 2D, 2L), tied with Anderlecht and STVV. League leaders Union Saint-Gilloise gathered 20 points so far. A win in Liège could bridge the gap to three points or four if Union drops points at Westerlo.
Talking statistics, summer signing Nicolò Tresoldi is Club's top marksman with three goals in the league, and Christos Tzolis is the assist king with three key passes. This season Club found the back of the net fourteen times and conceded ten. Across all competitions Hans Vanaken leads the top strikers' list with six, followed by Tresoldi (5), Tzolis and Seys (4), Mechele (3), Vermant and Forbs (2) and Spileers (1).
Historically, Gert Verheyen (12), Raoul Lambert (10) and Jan Ceulemans (6) are the Club Brugge players who scored most against Standard.
The opposition
After eight matches, Standard Liège sit eighth in the Belgian Pro League with 11 points from three wins, two draws and three defeats. A win over Club Brugge would bring them level on points. Standard’s victories this season came away to La Louvière and Westerlo (both 0-2) and at home against Genk (2-1). They drew with Dender and KV Mechelen, while suffering losses to Cercle Brugge (0-3 at home), Union (3-0) and OH Leuven (1-0).
Interestingly, they've played more away games than home so far: just three matches at Sclessin compared to five on the road. The clash with Club Brugge will be only their fourth at home. In front of their own fans, they've picked up one win, two draws and one defeat. They've managed two clean sheets overall but have failed to score in three games. Despite that, they've been awarded three penalties which is the most in the league. They haven't condeded a spot kick yet.
There’s been a managerial change at the club. After back-to-back 3-0 losses to Union and Cercle, Mircea Rednic was dismissed. Vincent Euvrard, who joined from FCV Dender at the end of August, has overseen eight matches so far, with one win, three draws and four defeats. That first victory came last weekend at Westerlo, where former Club Brugge midfielder Casper Nielsen scored his first goal for Standard with a fine strike from distance.
As for the squad, Thomas Henry and Marco Ilaimaharitra are the top scorers with two goals each. In terms of assists, Adnane Abid, Henry and Rafiki Saïd all have one, and all three joined the club this summer. Goalkeeper Matthieu Epolo is the only player to have played all 720 minutes so far. Other regular starters include Ilaimaharitra, Tobias Mohr and Marlon Fossey, though they've played slightly fewer minutes due to substitutions.
Standard were busy in the summer window, bringing in a mix of young prospects and experienced names. New arrivals include Lucas Pirard (KV Kortrijk), Josué Homawoo (Dinamo Bucharest), Casper Nielsen (Club Brugge), Ilaimaharitra and Nayel Mehassatou (KV Kortrijk), Tobias Mohr (Schalke 04), Mohammed El Hankouri (Magdeburg), Hakim Sahabo (Beerschot), Thomas Henry (Hellas Verona), Rafiki Saïd (Troyes), Adnane Abid (Patro Eisden), Dennis Ayensa (Union) and Timothé Nkada (Rodez). Notable departures include Sotiris Alexandropoulos, Ilay Camara, Nathan Ngoy, Bosko Sutalo, Andy Zeqiri, Lazare Amani and Andréas Hountondji.
Two current Standard players have a past with Club Brugge: midfielder Casper Nielsen, who opened his account for Standard with that long-range effort in Westerlo, and defender Ibe Hautekiet, who joined in 2023 and has made five appearances this season, totalling 261 minutes.
Milestones
- Cisse Sandra could mark a personal milestone this weekend as he stands on the brink of his 30th official appearance for Club Brugge.
- Brandon Mechele is closing in on an impressive landmark himself — his 370th league match for the Blauw-Zwart.
- Hugo Vetlesen is chasing his 70th appearance in the Belgian top flight
- Hugo Siquet could make his 25th league outing for Club Brugge, against his former club Standard.
The match officials
Jasper Vergoote will take charge of this weekend’s clash between Club Brugge and Standard Liège. He’ll be assisted on the lines by Michele Seeldraeyers and Martijn Tiesters, with Erik Lambrechts as fourth official. In the VAR room, Jan Boterberg will oversee proceedings, supported by Ella De Vries and Glenn Claes.
It will be the 22nd official Club Brugge match officiated by the 33-year-old Vergoote. Notably, Club are unbeaten in their last 11 away games with him in charge: seven wins and four draws.
Vergoote has previously refereed two meetings between these sides: Standard won 3-0 at home on 18 September 2022, while Club Brugge claimed a 2-0 victory at home on 3 December 2023.