Charleroi are set to play host to Gent at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi on Sunday in the third matchday of the 2024-25 Belgian Pro League campaign.
The hosts took their first points of the season with a 4-1 win last time out, while the visitors fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Dender in their last league game.
Match preview
© Imago
Charleroi came into this term aiming to have a much-improved season after facing difficulties in 2023-24, placing 13th in the league with just 29 points from the 30 pre-split matches.
That left them to compete in the relegation playoff group for the post-split season, where they were able to win five and draw one of the six fixtures to secure the only spot with guaranteed survival.
Their strong form continued throughout pre-season, winning two of their three friendlies and recording a promising draw against Genk, but Rik De Mil's men were unable to avoid defeat on the opening day.
Charleroi failed to reply to Vincent Janssen's goal after just 10 minutes for Royal Antwerp, but the Zebras bounced back with a convincing 4-1 win against St Truidense in their second outing.
They followed that win up with a 2-1 victory against Royal Francs Borains in a friendly match last weekend, and De Mils will be hoping his side can maintain their positive momentum with another win here.
Gent are likely to prove challenging opponents for the hosts though, with the visitors having won three and drawn one of their opening five matches to this term.
Wouter Vrancken's men had a mixed pre-season in preparation for the new season, winning three and losing three, including their final two friendlies, but they came out firing in their initial competitive matches.
A 4-1 first-leg victory against Vikingur Gota in the Europa Conference League second qualifying round was followed by a 1-0 win against KV Kortrijk in the league and a 3-0 win in the second leg.
However, they stumbled in the subsequent match against newly-promoted FCV Dender, suffering a surprise 2-1 defeat after conceding the winning goal in the 86th minute from Mohamed Berte.
Gent appeared as though they were going to bounce back with a victory in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie against Silkeborg IF, coming from 1-0 down to going 2-1 up in the 93rd minute thanks to Max Dean's strike, but the Danish side scored three minutes later to level the game.
Vrancken will now aim to get his side back to winning ways, with his sights set on finishing the campaign in the top six and qualifying for the championship playoff group, having narrowly missed out on goal difference last year.
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Team News
The hosts could be without Nadir Benbouali and Oday Dabbagh due to injury issues, while Mehdi Boukamir is also unlikely to feature due to his recent involvement with Egypt at the 2024 Olympics.
Daan Heymans netted twice in their 4-1 win over St Truidense last time out, and the attacking midfielder is likely to start behind Youssuf Sylla once again here.
As for the visitors, Jordan Torunarigha is unlikely to make an appearance due to a knock, but Vrancken otherwise has a fully fit squad to choose from.
They could name the same side that earned a hard-fought draw against Silkeborg in their most recent match, with Andri Gudjohnsen leading the line ahead of Sven Kums and Hyun-Seok Hong.
Charleroi possible starting lineup:
Kone; Petris, Keita, Andreou, Dragsnes; Camara, Zorgane; Bernier, Heymans, Guiagon; Sylla
Gent possible starting lineup:
Roef; Fadiga, Watanabe, Mitrovic, Fortuna; Surdez, Kums, Delorge, Hong, Brown; Gudjohnsen
We say: Charleroi 1-2 Gent
Both teams appear evenly matched heading into this game, having started the season similarly, but we believe Gent will have an advantage from having played more games by this point and will secure victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
