Gent vs Antwerp

Ghelamco Arena is the venue as Gent and Antwerp go head-to-head in a tasty-looking Belgium 1st Division A top-six six-pointer.

After a run of six Belgium 1st Division A matches without a draw (W5, L1), Gent are now building a reputation as the ‘stalemate specialists,’ having drawn each of their last four league games on the bounce. A low-scoring theme has highlighted Gent’s recent Division A fixtures as three of their last four such contests have featured under 2.5 total goals. Nothing should change here, at least based on their previous league meetings with Antwerp, with each of their last three such H2Hs yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline (L3). Indeed, ‘De Buffalo’ will have to defy their ‘Antwerp hoodoo’ if they are to snap a four-game winless league streak, having gone winless in their last eight top-flight H2Hs as hosts (D5, L3) since a 4-2 win in October 2000.

Meanwhile, Antwerp have seemingly found their feet in domestic proceedings following a 3-2 home loss to Standard Liege in mid-December, racking up a five-game unbeaten league run since (W3, D2). Interestingly, a lack of consistency has seen none of Antwerp’s 11 away league matches this season replicate the same outcome twice in a row (W6, D2, L3). That’s not a good omen, though, given that they claimed a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Oostende in their most recent league travel, making it three Division A road fixtures without losing (W2, D1). That victory also proved the visitors’ bounce-back credentials, as they’ve only lost one out of four away league games when conceding first this season (W2, D1). Winning by a tiny edge has been Antwerp’s trademark this term, with each of their last five top-flight triumphs on the road yielding a single-goal margin.