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Royal Antwerp will welcome Club Brugge to the Bosuilstadion in the Belgian Pro League championship round on Sunday.
The hosts have endured a poor run of form and have just one win in seven league outings. They suffered their fifth loss in that period last week, as they fell to a 4-1 away defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise. Vincent Janssen broke the deadlock in the 17th minute but Saint-Gilloise produced a remarkable performance to register a comeback win.
The visitors are unbeaten in their last six league games, recording five wins on the trot. They registered a 3-0 away win over Genk in their previous league outing last week.
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They failed to build on that form in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday, suffering a 3-2 away loss to Fiorentina. Hans Vanaken equalized in the 17th minute from the penalty spot and Igor Thiago equalized again in the 63rd minute before M'Bala Nzola scored the match-winner in the first minute of injury time.
Brugge are in second place in the league table with 42 points, the same as league leaders Anderlecht. They will need to continue their winning run in the league to keep the pressure on the league leaders.
Royal Antwerp vs Club Brugge Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have a long-standing rivalry and have met 113 times in all competitions. The visitors have dominated proceedings in this fixture, with 62 wins. The hosts have 21 wins and 30 games have ended in draws.
- Club Brugge have won three of their last four meetings against Royal Antwerp, including a 3-0 home win in the reverse fixture of the championship phase last month.
- The hosts have failed to score in four of their last six league outings.
- The visitors, meanwhile, have kept three clean sheets in their last four league outings.
Royal Antwerp vs Club Brugge Prediction
The Reds have endured a poor run of form recently, with their only win in their last eight games coming away from home against Cercle Brugge last month. They are winless in their last three home games in all competitions, failing to score in the last two. Nonetheless, they are unbeaten in their last three home games against the visitors, recording two wins, and will look to build on that form.
Blauw-Zwart have won seven of their last eight games in all competitions. They have found their goalscoring boots in these games, scoring at least two goals in seven games and at least three goals in four games in that period. Interestingly, they suffered an away loss to Antwerp in the regular phase earlier this season.
Caretaker manager Nicky Hayen should rest key players for the Conference League semi-finals second leg at home on Wednesday. Nonetheless, they are in great form and should be able to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Royal Antwerp 1-2 Club Brugge
Royal Antwerp vs Club Brugge Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Club Brugge to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Igor Thiago to score or assist any time - Yes
