The action continues in round four of the Belgian Pro League as Beerschot Wilrijk and Genk go head to head at the Olympisch Stadion on Saturday.
Both sides head into the weekend off the back of contrasting results, with the hosts suffering a humiliating defeat while the Blauw-Wit secured their first win of the campaign.
Match preview
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Beerschot Wilrijk were condemned to a second consecutive defeat last weekend as they were beaten 4-1 by Cercle Brugge when the two sides squared off at the Jan Breydel Stadium
In an action-packed contest, Bruno Gonclaves, Kazeem Olaigbe, Kevin Denkey and Abdoul Kader Ouattara all found the back of the net to fire Cercle Brugge to victory, with Simon Michez getting on the scoresheet for the visitors.
This was a second consecutive defeat for Beerschot, who secured promotion to the Belgian top flight last season when they clinched the Challenger Pro League title as they finished first in the table, two points above runners-up Dender.
Dirk Kuyt's men were denied a dream start to life in the big leagues as they played out a goalless draw with Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the season opener on July 27, one week before falling to a 3-1 loss against Union Saint-Gilloise at the Stade Joseph Marien.
With last week's result against Cercle Brugge, Beerschot have now failed to win seven of their last eight matches across all competitions — losing six and picking up one draw — with a 3-1 friendly victory over Greek outfit OFI Crete on July 19 being the exception.
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Genk, on the other hand, turned in a superb show of fighting spirits as they came from behind to snatch a 3-2 victory over Club Brugge at the Cegeka Arena last Sunday.
Andreas Skov Olsen netted a brace to put Bruges outfit in a commanding lead but Jarne Steuckers, Tolu Arokodare and Patrik Hrosovsky all found the back of the net in the final 22 minutes to turn the game on its head.
This was a much-needed result for Thorsten Fink's men, who had failed to win any of their last five matches, including a 2-2 draw with Lille and consecutive defeats against Feyenoord and Go Ahead Eagles in their final three pre-season games in July.
Genk kicked off the 2024-25 Pro League campaign with a somewhat disappointing goalless draw with Standard Liege on July 28 before suffering a 3-1 hammering against Oud-Heverlee Leuven at the King Power at Den Dreef Stadion on August 3.
Fink will hope that the comeback against Club Brugge can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form as the Blauw-Wit journey to the Olympisch Stadion, where they have lost three of their last four visits, conceding nine goals and scoring four since December 2011.
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Team News
![Leuven head coach Oscar Garcia pictured during a soccer match between Beerschot VA and OH Leuven - July 27, 2024 [on August 1, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/oscar-garcia.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Leuven head coach Oscar Garcia pictured during a soccer match between Beerschot VA and OH Leuven - July 27, 2024 [on August 1, 2024]")
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Beerschot will take to the pitch without the services of Herve Matthys, who missed last week's game after coming off injured in the eighth minute versus Saint-Gilloise on August 2.
In his absence, ArJany Martha was handed a starting role against Club Brugge and the 20-year-old should retain his role in the back four, teaming up with Brian Plat, Apostolos Konstantopoulos and Derick Tshimanga.
Meanwhile, Genk remain without 21-year-old forward Luca Oyen, who continues his long road to full fitness after suffering a cruciate ligament injury back in March.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Carlos Cuesta, who is yet to feature for the Blauw-Wit since returning from the Copa America in July.
With his strike against Club Brugge, Arokodare now has two goals in the first three games this term and the Nigerian striker, who netted 12 league goals last season, should lead the Genk attack once again.
Beerschot Wilrijk possible starting lineup:
Matijas; Martha, Plat, Konstantopoulos; Tshimanga, Michez, Cagro, Sanus, Henderson; Verlinden, Keita
Genk possible starting lineup:
Van Crombrugge; Sadick, Smets, Ditu; Tshiend, Sattlberger, Hrosovsky, Kongolo; Steuckers, Arokodare, Baah
We say: Beerschot Wilrijk 1-3 Genk
The last six meetings between Beerschot and Genk have produced a combined 22 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest at the Olympisch Stadion with plenty of goalmouth action.
We predict that the Blauw-Wit carry on with the momentum from their comeback against Club Brugge and secure their second win of the campaign this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
