Both searching for their first points of the Belgian Pro League season, Sint-Truiden and Charleroi will square off at the Daio Wasabi Stayen Stadium on Saturday.
The two teams both suffered narrow defeats in the opening round of fixtures of the new term last weekend and will bid to get their campaigns up and running.
Match preview
© Imago
Sint-Truiden will play their first game of the season at the Daio Wasabi Stayen Stadium on Saturday in search of a first victory of the Belgian Pro League term, in their bid to build on last season's display in the domestic top flight.
De Kanaries finished the regular season in ninth spot with 40 points from their 30 outings, seeing them begin in the Conference League playoff group on a halved tally of 20 points, four behind Gent with a single domestic European playoff tie place on the line in the second phase of the campaign.
They were unable to take that spot, though, eventually third in the group and ninth overall in Belgium's top flight, having added 13 more points to their tally in 10 second-phase outings, falling six behind Mechelen and 15 behind Gent as a result.
Then following the departure of Thorsten Fink, they turned to the new campaign with the aim of further improvement under the new management of Christian Lattanzio, but De Kanaries were unable to make a winning start last weekend, facing a tough trip to Anderlecht and leaving empty-handed from a 1-0 defeat in agonising fashion, as Mario Stroeykens snatched all three points for the hosts with the only goal of the game in the 92nd minute.
Left wounded by that defeat but with positives to take from an encouraging away display, Sint-Truiden will now look to put their first points on the board on Saturday before visiting Royal Antwerp next week.
Their visitors also head into the contest in search of a first victory on Saturday, in their bid for a much-improved campaign after struggling last term.
A 13th-placed finish in the 2023-24 regular season saw Charleroi drop into the relegation playoff group for the second phase of the campaign, but they were, at least, able to take the only guaranteed survival spot in that group with a pleasing end.
Indeed, their safety was mathematically certain after four of the six games in the group, having gone on to pick up five victories and one draw to end on 45 points, 14 points clear of the promotion/relegation playoff place and 15 above the automatic drop zone.
Now setting out to enjoy a stronger campaign and avoid the threat of relegation, Rik De Mil's side began at home to Royal Antwerp on Sunday but failed to get off the mark, falling to a 1-0 defeat at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi having failed to find a leveller after Vincent Janssen put their visitors ahead inside 10 minutes.
Charleroi will now travel to the Daio Wasabi Stayen Stadium on Saturday in search of a victory to get up and running and avoid immediately finding themselves at the bottom end of the table again in the coming weeks.
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Team News
Sint-Truiden will remain without goalkeeper Leo Kokubo and midfielders Rihito Yamamoto and Joel Chima Fujita for Saturday's trip, with the trio away on international duty at the Olympic Games with Japan.
Following the summer departure of last season's top scorer Aboubakary Koita, Kahveh Zahiroleslam should again be relied upon to lead the attack, with Olivier Dumont and 18-year-old Adam Nhaili likely to join him on a front three.
Ryotaro Ito, who is an attacking threat from the engine room having netted seven goals of his own last term, will fight to come into the midfield from the outset, while Rein Van Helden, Bruno Godeau and David Mindombe are bound to line up in an unaltered back three after a strong display against Anderlecht in last week's opener.
Charleroi are dealing with an absence of their own due to the Olympic Games, with defender Mehdi Boukamir on duty for Belgium in France.
They may be unchanged from last weekend's narrow defeat to Royal Antwerp, with Mohamed Kone having arrived from Le Havre over the summer to replace the departed Herve Koffi between the sticks.
Fellow new arrival Yacine Titraoui will fight for a first start in the midfield, while Youssuf Sylla should again lead the line with support from the trio of Isaac Mbenza, Daan Heymans and Parfait Guiagon.
Sint-Truiden possible starting lineup:
Coppens; Van Helden, Godeau, Mindombe; Ananou, Diriken, Ito, Ogawa; Dumont, Zahiroleslam, Nhaili
Charleroi possible starting lineup:
Kone; Petris, Keita, Andreou, Dragsnes; Camara, Titraoui; Mbenza, Heymans, Guiagon; Sylla
We say: Sint-Truiden 1-1 Charleroi
With both teams keen to get off the mark at the second time of asking in the Belgian Pro League, we anticipate a tight encounter on Saturday and cannot quite pick a winner between two sides with similar quality, instead opting for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
