Union - Club: the Club Facts

Tonight the return game in the Croky Cup semifinals is scheduled. Club will visit Union with a bonus of one goal from the outward game.

The match

Club won 2-1 in the outward match after goals from Skov Olsen and Ferran Jutglà. Machida scored the tying goal in the closing minutes. Nevertheless, Club thus heads to the Joseph Marien Stadium with a good starting position.

Club is fighting in Brussels for a place in the final of the Belgian Cup, for Blauw-Zwart it could already be the twentieth final.

With the win against Union, Club won all its cup matches so far:

• 0-6 against Beerschot in the 1/16th final
• 4-0 against Zulte Waregem in the 1/8th final
• 0-1 against KAA Gent in the quarterfinals
• 2-1 against Union in the outward match of the semifinals

In cup history, Club Brugge won the outward match 2-1 at home 3 times before in a double cup game with direct elimination. It was also able to qualify for the final each time.

Igor Thiago is back, in the league match against Anderlecht the Brazilian was still suspended. Skov Olsen is the only Blauw-Zwart player to miss the final with a yellow card. At Union, Burgess and Lapoussin are on one yellow card from a fatal suspension.

Ferran Jutlglà could now score four games in a row for Club. Against Anderlecht, he scored Club Brugge's 100th goal of the season. That makes 55 in the league, 32 in Europe and 13 in the cup.

The opponent

Union is the last hurdle towards the final, and perhaps the most difficult one. The Brusselers are brimming with confidence after their qualification in the Conference League against Frankfurt and another win in the league against Standard.

In the JPL, they are sovereign in the lead with eight points more than first pursuer Anderlecht. The defeat against Blauw-Zwart in the outward game was their first defeat in 25 official duels on Belgian soil.

In the five previous official home duels against FCB, Union managed to win only once, that was this season when Union won in the regular league.

Remarkably, no one at Union scored more than once in this edition of the Croky Cup. Fedde Leysen, Mathias Rasmussen, Loïc Lapoussin, Kevin Rodríguez and Koki Machida scored 1 time each. Lapoussin and Sadiki both tally two assists and are their team's best attackers this cup season.

Milestones

• Against his former team, Casper Nielsen can play his 80th match. For Union, he played exactly 100 matches.
• Both Hans Vanaken and Brandon Mechele can play their 35th cup match for Club. That would put them on a par with Club defender Georges Leekens. Only eleven players played more cup matches for Club than the Limburger.

The referee

Lothar D'Hondt was designated ref for this duel. Romain Devillers and Nico Claes are the linesmen. Nathan Verboomen is the fourth official.

Jonathan Lardot is the VAR, he is assisted by Florian Lemaire and Jonas Timmermans.

D'Hondt is whistling Club Brugge's 19th official match. Club's ten previous away matches under his guidance ended in six wins, three draws and one defeat.

Earlier this season, he led the away game at KAS Eupen (0-5) in the league and the home game against SV Zulte Waregem (4-0) in the cup.

The 29-year-old ref has led 21 previous Union duels. ten Union home matches with D'Hondt as referee ended in four wins, three draws and three defeats.

This season he whistled for Union in the league the home match against KAS Eupen (4-1) and the away match at KAA Gent (1-1) and in the cup the home match against RSC Anderlecht (2-1).