Belgian Football Season 2022-23

[jmf]

This championship is completely crazy. No one is safe. Very balanced competition every week.

Draws for Genk (#1) VS Cercle (#10), for FC Bruges (#4) VS Kortrijk (#14) and for Standard Liège (#7) VS Zulte (#17).
Home defeat for Antwerp (#3) VS Charleroi (#9).

[bjkman1903]

This championship is completely crazy. No one is safe. Very balanced competition every week.

Draws for Genk (#1) VS Cercle (#10), for FC Bruges (#4) VS Kortrijk (#14) and for Standard Liège (#7) VS Zulte (#17).
Home defeat for Antwerp (#3) VS Charleroi (#9).

Yes, only 4 matchdays left for the end of regular season and a lot of surprising results happened.

- Union SG reduced the gap to only 3 points with leaders Genk
- Club Brugge lost important 4th place and are now 2 points behind Gent
- Anderlecht are finally in top 8 and may still get a Conference League ticket for next season.

[dnina10]

Jupiler Pro League Round 30 Results

Friday
Cercle Brugge 1-1 KRC Genk

Saturday
KV Kortrijk 1-0 Club Brugge
KV Oostende 1-2 KVC Westerlo
Sint-Truiden 2-1 Seraing
Standard 2-2 Zulte Waregem

Sunday
Royal Antwerp 0-1 Sporting Charleroi
OH Leuven 0-2 RSC Anderlecht
Union St. Gilloise 2-1 KV Mechelen
KAA Gent 3-0 KAS Eupen

Standings (after 30 mathces)
1. KRC Genk 21-5-4 68-29 +39 68
2. Union St. Gilloise 20-5-5 61-36 +25 65
3. Royal Antwerp 18-6-6 53-25 +28 60
4. KAA Gent 15-6-9 56-34 +22 51
5. Club Brugge 13-10-7 49-36 +15 49
6. KVC Westerlo 14-6-10 58-49 +9 48
7. Standard 13-7-10 48-40 +8 46
8. RSC Anderlecht 12-6-12 44-38 +6 42
9. Sporting Charleroi 12-5-12 (29) 36-38 -2 41*
10. Cercle Brugge 10-11-9 41-41 0 41
11. OH Leuven 10-9-11 42-41 +1 39
12. Sint-Truiden 10-9-11 30-35 -5 39
13. KV Mechelen 9-6-14 (29) 38-52 -14 33*
14. KV Kortrijk 8-6-16 35-54 -19 30
15. KAS Eupen 7-6-17 39-62 -23 27
16. KV Oostende 6-6-18 34-63 -29 24
17. Zulte Waregem 5-9-16 39-67 -28 24
18. Seraing 5-4-21 26-58 -32 19

* It was determined that the match between Sporting Chareloi and KV Mechelen would be replayed behind closed doors despite the match being abandoned due to crowd troubles. The date and time for the fixture is yet to be released

Round 31 Fixtures

Friday (03/31/23)
20:45 Zulte Waregem - Royal Antwerp

Saturday
16:00 Cercle Brugge - KV Kortrijk
18:15 Seraing - KAA Gent
18:15 KVC Westerlo - Sporting Charleroi
20:45 KV Oostende - Standard

Sunday
13:30 KRC Genk - OH Leuven
16:00 KAS Eupen - RSC Anderlecht
18:30 KV Mechelen - Club Brugge
19:15 Union St. Gilloise - Sint-Truiden

[dnina10]

Challenger Pro League

Playoffs 1 Round 4 Results

Friday
KSK Beveren 2-0 Lierse Kempenzonen

Saturday
RSC Anderlecht U23 0-4 RWDM

Sunday
Club Brugge U23 2-1 Beerschot VA

Standings (after 4 matches)
1. RWDM 3-0-1 11-5 +2 55
2. KSK Beveren 3-0-1 5-4 +1 52
3. Club Brugge U23 3-0-1 9-5 +4 45
4. Beerschot VA 1-1-2 2-3 -1 42
5. Lierse Kempenzonen 1-0-3 3-6 -3 39
6. RSC Anderlecht U23 0-1-3 1-8 -7 35

Round 5 Fixtures

Friday (03/31/23)
20:00 RSC Anderlecht U23 - KSK Beveren

Saturday
20:00 Lierse Kempenzonen - Club Brugge U23

Sunday
19:15 Beerschot VA - RWDM


Playoffs 2 Round 4 Results

Friday
KRC Genk U23 1-1 Virton

Saturday
Deinze 1-1 Lommel

Sunday
Standard U23 1-1 Dender

Standings (after 4 matches)
7. Lommel 2-1-1 4-2 +2 39
8. Deinze 1-1-2 4-5 -1 34
9. Dender 2-1-1 4-3 +1 26
10. KRC Genk U23 1-2-1 5-5 0 25
11. Standard U23 1-2-1 3-3 0 24
12. Virton 1-1-2 4-5 -1 18

Round 5 Fixtures

Friday (03/31/23)
20:00 Dender - KRC Genk U23

Saturday
16:00 Deinze - Standard U23

Sunday
16:00 Lommel - Virton

[dnina10]

Jupiler Pro League Round 31 Results

Friday
Zulte Waregem 0-2 Royal Antwerp

Saturday
Cercle Brugge 2-0 KV Kortrijk
Seraing 0-5 KAA Gent
KVC Westerlo 2-3 Sporting Charleroi
KV Oostende 1-3 Standard

Sunday
KRC Genk 2-1 OH Leuven
KAS Eupen 0-1 RSC Anderlecht
KV Mechelen 0-3 Club Brugge
Union St. Gilloise 2-1 Sint-Truiden

Standings (after 31 matches)
1. KRC Genk 22-5-4 70-30 +40 71
2. Union St. Gilloise 21-5-5 63-37 +26 68
3. Royal Antwerp 19-6-6 55-25 +30 63
4. KAA Gent 16-6-9 61-34 +27 54
5. Club Brugge 14-10-7 52-36 +16 52
6. Standard 14-7-10 51-41 +10 49
7. KVC Westerlo 14-6-11 60-52 +8 48
8. RSC Anderlecht 13-6-12 45-38 +7 45
9. Sporting Charleroi 13-5-12 (30) 39-40 -1 44*
10. Cercle Brugge 11-11-9 43-41 +2 44
11. OH Leuven 10-9-12 43-43 0 39
12. Sint-Truiden 10-9-12 31-37 -6 39
13. KV Mechelen 9-6-15 (30) 38-55 -17 33*
14. KV Kortrijk 8-6-17 35-56 -21 30
15. KAS Eupen 7-6-18 39-63 -24 27
16. KV Oostende 6-6-19 35-66 -31 24
17. Zulte Waregem 5-9-17 39-69 -30 24
18. Seraing 5-4-22 26-63 -37 19

Round 32 Fixtures

Friday
20:45 Club Brugge - Seraing

Saturday
16:00 KV Kortrijk - KAS Eupen
16:00 OH Leuven - KV Mechelen
18:15 Sporting Charleroi - Zulte Waregem
20:45 KAA Gent - Union St. Gilloise

Sunday
13:30 RSC Anderlecht - KVC Westerlo
16:00 Royal Antwerp - Cercle Brugge
18:30 Standard - KRC Genk
19:15 Sint-Truiden - KV Oostende

[dnina10]

Challenger Pro League

Playoffs 1 Round 5 Results

Friday
RSC Anderlecht U23 0-4 KSK Beveren

Saturday
Lierse Kempenzonen 1-2 Club Brugge U23

Sunday
Beerschot VA 1-1 RWDM

Standings (after 5 matches)
1. RWDM 3-1-1 12-6 +6 56
2. KSK Beveren 4-0-1 9-4 +5 55
3. Club Brugge U23 4-0-1 11-6 +5 48
4. Beerschot VA 1-2-2 3-4 -1 43
5. Lierse Kempenzonen 1-0-4 4-8 -4 39
6. RSC Anderlecht U23 0-1-4 1-12 -11 35

Round 6 Fixtures

Saturday
16:00 Club Brugge U23 - Lierse Kempenzonen
20:00 KSK Beveren - RSC Anderlecht U23

Sunday
19:15 RWDM - Beerschot VA


Playoffs 2 Round 5 Results

Friday
Dender 1-0 KRC Genk U23

Saturday
Deinze 5-0 Standard U23

Sunday
Lommel 1-2 Virton

Standings (after 5 matches)
7. Lommel 2-1-2 5-4 +1 39
8. Deinze 2-1-2 9-5 +4 37
9. Dender 3-1-1 5-3 +2 29
10. KRC Genk U23 1-2-2 5-6 -1 25
11. Standard U23 1-2-2 3-8 -5 24
12. Virton 2-1-2 6-6 0 21

Round 6 Fixtures

Friday
20:00 KRC Genk - Dender
20:00 Standard U23 - Deinze

Sunday
16:00 Virton - Lommel

[dnina10]

Jupiler Pro League Round 32 Results

Friday
Club Brugge 2-0 Seraing

Saturday
KV Kortrijk 0-0 KAS Eupen
OH Leuven 4-1 KV Mechelen
Sporting Charleroi 3-2 Zulte Waregem
KAA Gent 1-1 Union St. Gilloise

Sunday
RSC Anderlecht 0-0 KVC Westerlo
Royal Antwerp 2-1 Cercle Brugge
Standard 2-0 KRC Genk
Sint-Truiden 5-0 KV Oostende

Standings (after 32 matches)
1. KRC Genk 22-5-5 70-32 +38 71
2. Union St. Gilloise 21-6-5 64-38 +26 69
3. Royal Antwerp 20-6-6 57-26 +31 66 (C)
4. KAA Gent 16-7-9 62-35 +27 55
5. Club Brugge 15-10-7 54-36 +18 55
6. Standard 15-7-10 53-41 +12 52
7. KVC Westerlo 14-7-11 60-52 +8 49
8. Sporting Charleroi 14-5-12 (31) 42-42 0 47
9. RSC Anderlecht 13-7-12 45-38 +7 46
10. Cercle Brugge 11-11-10 44-43 +1 44
11. OH Leuven 11-9-12 47-44 +1 42
12. Sint-Truiden 11-9-12 36-37 -1 42
13. KV Mechelen 9-6-16 (30) 39-59 -20 33 (C)
14. KV Kortrijk 8-7-17 35-56 -21 31
15. KAS Eupen 7-7-18 39-63 -24 28
16. KV Oostende 6-6-20 35-71 -36 24
17. Zulte Waregem 5-9-18 41-72 -31 24
18. Seraing 5-4-23 26-65 -39 19 (R)

(C) - Cup final
(R) - Relegated

Round 33 Fixtures

Friday
20:45 Standard - Sporting Charleroi

Saturday
16:00 KAS Eupen - Zulte Waregem
18:15 Cercle Brugge - Sint-Truiden
18:15 KV Oostende - OH Leuven
20:45 KVC Westerlo - Club Brugge

Sunday
13:30 KRC Genk - RSC Anderlecht
16:00 KV Mechelen - KAA Gent
18:30 Royal Antwerp - KV Kortrijk
19:15 Union St. Gilloise - Seraing

[dnina10]

Challenger Pro League

Playoff 1 Round 6 Results

Saturday
Club Brugge U23 0-1 Lierse Kempenzonen
KSK Beveren 4-1 RSC Anderlecht U23

Sunday
RWDM 4-0 Beerschot VA

Standings (after 6 matches)
1. RWDM 4-1-1 16-6 +10 59
2. KSK Beveren 5-0-1 13-5 +8 58
3. Club Brugge U23 4-0-2 11-7 +4 48
4. Beerschot VA 1-2-3 3-8 -5 43
5. Lierse Kempenzonen 2-0-4 5-8 -3 42
6. RSC Anderlecht U23 0-1-5 2-16 -14 35

Round 7 Fixtures

Friday
20:00 Beerschot VA - Club Brugge U23

Saturday
20:00 RSC Anderlecht U23 - Lierse Kempenzonen

Sunday
16:00 RWDM - KSK Beveren


Playoff 2 Round 6 Results

Friday
KRC Genk 0-4 Dender
Standard U23 1-2 Deinze

Sunday
Virton 1-2 Lommel

Standings (after 6 matches)
7. Lommel 3-1-2 7-5 +2 42
8. Deinze 3-1-2 11-6 +5 40
9. Dender 4-1-1 7-4 +3 32
10. KRC Genk U23 1-2-3 5-10 -5 25
11. Standard U23 1-2-3 4-10 -6 24
12. Virton 2-1-3 7-8 -1 21

Round 7 Fixtures

Friday
20:00 Lommel - Deinze

Saturday
16:00 Standard U23 - KRC Genk U23

Sunday
19:15 Virton - Dender

[bjkman1903]

Very interesting end of the season in Belgium.

- Union SG are really close of passing Genk now. Given recent forms, Union SG are my favourites to win the title at the end of play-offs.

- Gent vs Club Brugge for the 4th place.
Advantage still for Gent, and let's see if they will deny Club Brugge that very important 4th place.

- Battle for play-off 2 : Standard and Club Brugge / Gent will almost likely get 2 places.
Remains Westerlo, Sporting Charleroi and Anderlecht.
All 3 teams face difficult opponents (Westerlo v Club Brugge; Standard vs Sporting Charleroi; Genk v Anderlecht)

[Firnen]

Union Saint Gilloise is my favourite for the title too.

At least one of Gent/Club Brugge/Anderlecht will not be playing in Europe next year for Belgium, perhaps more than one.

[YAYgee]

Union Saint Gilloise is my favourite for the title too.

At least one of Gent/Club Brugge/Anderlecht will not be playing in Europe next year for Belgium, perhaps more than one.

Anderlecht edging towards ECL semis (might even meet Gent there); one of them simply has to win that thing and then can enter the EL groups as an additional club. No need to qualify via the league. Union better off winning the EL this season (go directly in the groups next season) and can leave the CL qualis to Genk and Antwerp.

Union to CLGS as EL winners
Genk and Antwerp to CL qualis as 1st and 2nd in the league
Anderlecht to ELGS as ECL winners
KVM to EL qualis as Cup winners
Gent and Brugge to ECL qualis via the league

Not gonna happen but is this even possible?

[dnina10]

Union Saint Gilloise is my favourite for the title too.

At least one of Gent/Club Brugge/Anderlecht will not be playing in Europe next year for Belgium, perhaps more than one.

Anderlecht edging towards ECL semis (might even meet Gent there); one of them simply has to win that thing and then can enter the EL groups as an additional club. No need to qualify via the league. Union better off winning the EL this season (go directly in the groups next season) and can leave the CL qualis to Genk and Antwerp.

Union to CLGS as EL winners
Genk and Antwerp to CL qualis as 1st and 2nd in the league
Anderlecht to ELGS as ECL winners
KVM to EL qualis as Cup winners
Gent and Brugge to ECL qualis via the league

Not gonna happen but is this even possible?

This is virtually impossible. For this to happen, USG would have to finish last in Playoffs 1 (and not win the regular season, this is key). On top of that, they would have to lose to Gent or Club Brugge (whoever ends up in PO2) in the European play-in game. And, of course, Mechelen would have to win the cup. Seeing that Antwerp is the overwhelming favourite in the cup final (and is very very likely to win it), your scenario would then become impossible.

Realistically, Belgium can have at most 6 teams in Europe next season, depending on how Gent and Anderlecht do in the ECL (and in the playoffs, if the latter even ends up qualifying for it)

[bjkman1903]

Genk destroyed Anderlecht 5-2 and remain leaders of the regular season before the final matchday.

Club Brugge could not win at Westerlo, and Gent could not take advantage of it as they also drew at Mechelen.

Before the final round :

- Gent huge favourites to keep 4th place as they play at home against Oostende, which are already relegated.

- Anderlecht need to win at home vs Mechelen and have both Charleroi and Cercle Brugge to lose points. There is a decent chance that it might happen because Charleroi host leaders Genk and Cercle Brugge play away at Zulte Waregem which must get at least a draw to avoid relegation.

Of course surprises might happen but as it stands :

PO1 - Genk, Union SG, Antwerp and Gent
PO2 - Club Brugge, Standard Liège, Westerlo and Anderlecht

[dnina10]

Jupiler Pro League Round 33 Results

Friday
Standard 3-1 Sporting Charleroi

Saturday
KAS Eupen 1-5 Zulte Waregem
Cercle Brugge 3-1 Sint-Truiden
KV Oostende 0-4 OH Leuven
KVC Westerlo 0-0 Club Brugge

Sunday
KRC Genk 5-2 RSC Anderlecht
KV Mechelen 1-1 KAA Gent
Royal Antwerp 1-0 KV Kortrijk
Union St. Gilloise 2-1 Seraing

Standings (after 33 matches)
1. KRC Genk 23-5-5 75-34 +41 74
2. Union St. Gilloise 22-6-5 66-39 +27 72
3. Royal Antwerp 21-6-6 58-26 +32 69 (C)
4. KAA Gent 16-8-9 63-36 +27 56
5. Club Brugge 15-11-7 54-36 +18 56
6. Standard 16-7-10 56-42 +14 55
7. KVC Westerlo 14-8-11 60-52 +8 53
8. Sporting Charleroi 14-5-13 43-50 -7 47
9. Cercle Brugge 12-11-10 47-44 +3 47
10. RSC Anderlecht 13-7-13 47-43 +4 46
11. OH Leuven 12-9-12 53-46 +7 45
12. Sint-Truiden 11-9-13 37-40 -3 42
13. KV Mechelen 10-7-16 45-60 -15 37 (C)
14. KV Kortrijk 8-7-18 35-57 -22 31
15. KAS Eupen 7-7-19 40-68 -28 28
16. Zulte Waregem 6-9-18 46-73 -27 27
17. KV Oostende 6-6-21 35-75 -40 24 (R)
18. Seraing 5-4-24 27-67 -40 19 (R)

[dnina10]

Jupiler Pro League Round 33 Results

Friday
Standard 3-1 Sporting Charleroi

Saturday
KAS Eupen 1-5 Zulte Waregem
Cercle Brugge 3-1 Sint-Truiden
KV Oostende 0-4 OH Leuven
KVC Westerlo 0-0 Club Brugge

Sunday
KRC Genk 5-2 RSC Anderlecht
KV Mechelen 1-1 KAA Gent
Royal Antwerp 1-0 KV Kortrijk
Union St. Gilloise 2-1 Seraing

Standings (after 33 matches)
1. KRC Genk 23-5-5 75-34 +41 74
2. Union St. Gilloise 22-6-5 66-39 +27 72
3. Royal Antwerp 21-6-6 58-26 +32 69 (C)
4. KAA Gent 16-8-9 63-36 +27 56
5. Club Brugge 15-11-7 54-36 +18 56
6. Standard 16-7-10 56-42 +14 55
7. KVC Westerlo 14-8-11 60-52 +8 53
8. Sporting Charleroi 14-5-13 43-50 -7 47
9. Cercle Brugge 12-11-10 47-44 +3 47
10. RSC Anderlecht 13-7-13 47-43 +4 46
11. OH Leuven 12-9-12 53-46 +7 45
12. Sint-Truiden 11-9-13 37-40 -3 42
13. KV Mechelen 10-7-16 45-60 -15 37 (C)
14. KV Kortrijk 8-7-18 35-57 -22 31
15. KAS Eupen 7-7-19 40-68 -28 28
16. Zulte Waregem 6-9-18 46-73 -27 27
17. KV Oostende 6-6-21 35-75 -40 24 (R)
18. Seraing 5-4-24 27-67 -40 19 (R)

The final round of the Jupiler Pro League regular season will take place next weekend, with all games expected to occur next Sunday at 18:30. Some games may still be moved to a different time and/or different day.

For starters, just a quick note: it was confirmed earlier last week that Mechelen's game with Charleroi from round 17, initially to be replayed, has been awarded to Mechelen (5-0 is the forfeit score).

Outside of that, here are the matches for the last round of fixtures:

RSC Anderlecht - KV Mechelen
Sporting Charleroi - KRC Genk
Club Brugge - KAS Eupen
KAA Gent - KV Oostende
KV Kortrijk - Union St. Gilloise
OH Leuven - Standard
Seraing - KVC Westerlo
Sint-Truiden - Royal Antewrp
Zulte Waregem - Cercle Brugge


Update: the following matches have been moved to a different date/time:

Saturday
18:15 Seraing - KVC Westerlo

Sunday
13:30 Sint-Truiden - Royal Antwerp

The regular season title, last Playoffs 1 spot, final Playoffs 2 spot, and penultimate spot in the league next season are all on the line heading into the final weekend of regular season play. Eleven of the 18 teams will go into the round fighting for something of note.

Let's start with the regular season title berth. This guarantees a European place to the winner (ECL Q2 minimum). Genk and Union St. Gilloise are the two teams in contention here. The former holds a two-point lead on the latter. Seeing that Genk has a considerable advantage regarding GD, the only way for USG to pass the Smurfs is by defeating Kortrijk while Genk loses to Charleroi.

The last place for the title playoffs is on the line between Gent, Club Brugge and Standard. De Buffalo's currently hold the advantage on games won (which is the first tiebreaker in Belgium). That means that if they win, the spot is theirs. They will also take the last spot if Club Brugge loses and Standard fails to win (Gent's GD is vastly superior). Club Brugge will qualify for PO1 if they earn more points than Gent. If they were to draw and Gent loses, Standard would also have to drop points. Finally, Standard's situation is very simple. They must win while the other two teams do not. Should they all end up level on points (Gent and Club Brugge lose while Standard draws), they would finish in this order: Gent, Standard, Club Brugge.

Moving on to the last Playoffs 2 spot. Two of Gent, Club Brugge and Standard will compete in this mini group, along with Westerlo, who is the only team assured of a PO2 berth (Cercle Brugge has two less wins). The final place will go to one of Charleroi, Cercle Brugge, Anderlecht, or Leuven. Charleroi currently has the advantage as they only need a victory against Genk to claim the final playoff berth. Cercle will finish eighth if they defeat Zulte Waregem and Charleroi fails to win. A draw would be enough for Cercle if Charleroi loses, and both Anderlecht and Leuven fail to collect three points. As for Anderlecht, a win over Mechelen plus Charleroi and Cercle failing to win will give them the last spot. The only way for Leuven to take eighth spot is if they defeat Standard, Charleroi loses, while both Cercle and Anderlecht drop points.

Finally, the last team to go down will be either Eupen or Zulte Waregem. Oostende can still finish 16th, but that will not be enough for them to remain in the league. Eupen has one more point than Zulte, plus two more wins. As a result, the only way for Zulte to maintain their place in the JPL is by winning against Cercle, while Eupen drops points against Club Brugge. A draw would still send them down since they have less wins than Eupen