And here we go again! FCB will be kicking of this season's Jupiler Pro League against KRC Genk. Find out more here.
The fixture
Paying a visit to Jan Breyde at the occasion of the opening day of the new season will be KRC Genk. A season that started out well last weekend as Club Brugge beat Union for the Supercup (1-2).
For the 91st time, Club Brugge and KRC Genk will be crossing swords in the Belgian league. In 45 earlier home games, Club won 28 (the last time 1-0 on 13.04.2025), drew 8 (the last time 1-1 on 28.09.2023) and lost 9 (last 1-3 on 28.05.2023).
This will be the third time Club takes on Genk in the season opener, the two earlier editions also at home. Both in 2003 (1-0) and in 2022 (3-2) Club won by a narrow margin.
For the fifth consecutive time, Club will be opening at home. It only managed to win once, in the aforementioned game against KRC Genk back in 2022.
The regular league saw a win for Club against Genkt, as Simon Mignolet was one of the day's heroes denying Tolu from the spot. This was followed up with goals by Brandon Mechele and Andreas Skov Olsen. In the Play-offs, Club again kept Genk at bay, this time through a late Maxim De Cuyper spot kick.
Three clean sheets for Club against Genk in three consecutive JPL games. Another clean sheet on Sunday means the record of four consecutive home wins not conceding against Genk is equalled (1997 until 2001) .
Club Brugge has been unbowed against KRC Genk in the last four home games (3W 1D). A win for Club on Sunday means Club grabs four consecutive wins against the Genkies for the first time since 2016.
The Opponent
Coach Thorsten Fink (57) will be in his second season at KRC Genk, after a first season seeing Genk end up in first place after the regular league, and make it to the Belgian Cup Semis.
On the out side, KRC Genk bid farewell to Mike Penders, making a move to Chelsea FC (Eng). No more Christopher Bonsu Baah (Al-Sadsiah) or Thomas Claes (Zulte Waregem) either.
The team lured the following new signings to Limburg:
-> goalie: Tobias Lawal (LASK Linz)
-> midfielder: Daan Heymans (Sporting Charleroi)
-> forwards: Aaron Bibout (Västeras SK) and Ayumu Yokoyama (Birmingham City).
KRC Genk is kicking off its 35th season in the Belgian top flight. For the 16th time it will be featuring in Europe too. To make it to the Europa League, the team has to get through one preliminary. The safety net of the Conference League is also still available.
