Mechelen make the trip to KV Oostende on Friday evening knowing that victory will move them into third position in the Belgian Pro League standings.
However, Oostende, who are currently down in 11th position, will be level on points with the visitors if they can prevail at the Diaz Arena.
Match preview
When losing 7-2 at Anderlecht in the middle of September, suffering a fourth defeat in seven games could have led to Mechelen spending a prolonged spell in the bottom half of the table.
However, four successive wins and a lively 2-2 draw with Zulte Waregem have transformed their season, Mechelen now just a couple of wins away from moving into title contention.
Wouter Vrancken has gone from coming under pressure to keep his job to finding a successful formula at both ends of the pitch, the most notable improvement coming in defence.
While Nikola Storm's contribution in the final third has recently dried up, Hugo Cuypers has taken over with a goal or assist in his last six outings.
At a time when Mechelen are on an upward trajectory, Oostende's inconsistency is preventing them from becoming a contender at the right end of the table.
Despite having recently put together a four-match unbeaten streak, Alexander Blessin's side have won just two of their most recent eight encounters.
Those victories also came against the bottom two clubs in the division, strengthening the argument that they need to find an extra gear over the coming months.
On the plus side, Makhtar Gueye has taken his tally to eight goals from 12 league outings, a necessary contribution with none of his teammates netting more than twice.
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Team News
Despite being withdrawn in the last league match, Gueye should still retain his place in the Oostende XI.
However, Marko Kvasina is an alternative to Thierry Ambrose, while Vincent Koziello will hope to finally be handed his first league start of the season in midfield.
Vrancken will give consideration to selecting the same Mechelen players which started the 2-2 draw with Waregem.
Marian Shved is the most likely to be brought into the team, potentially taking the place of Storm on one of the flanks.
Despite their second-half introductions last time out, veteran duo Onur Kaya and Igor de Camargo will probably have to wait for their first league starts of the campaign.
KV Oostende possible starting lineup:
Hubert; Tanghe, Fortes, Medley; Capon, D'Arpino, Batzner, Amade, Matam; Gueye, Kvasina
Mechelen possible starting lineup:
Coucke; Walsh, Vanlerberghe, Bateau, Bijker; Souza, Gouet; Mrabti, Schoofs, Storm; Cuypers
We say: KV Oostende 1-2 Mechelen
On the back of some solid results at home, Oostende will fancy their chances of all three points on Friday. However, Mechelen can only take confidence from successive wins on the road, leading us to predict a narrow away victory.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a KV Oostende win with a probability of 47.96%. A win for Mechelen had a probability of 29.42% and a draw had a probability of 22.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a KV Oostende win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.26%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.1%) and 2-0 (6.57%). The likeliest Mechelen win was 1-2 (7.06%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.01%). The actual scoreline of 2-4 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood.
