Club Brugge will be hosting the game against Union on Match Day Five of the Champions' Play-Offs, in hopes of continuing the perfect run it has had so far. Get in the know here!
The Fixture
A double bill presents itself as Club and Union St.-Gilloise cross swords on Thursday and on Sunday. Tonight's game will see the two teams battle it out for the 96th time on the Belgian top stage. In 47 earlier home games, Club won 22, drew 12 and lost 13. The last five home games did not see a Club win, while the eight games before that only knew one positive result for Club.
After its promotion to the top flight back in 2021, Union and Club met 15 times, resulting in 5 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats. In the first part of the season, both games ended in a draw. At Jan Breydel Franjo Ivanović put the visitors in the lead, only to see it cancelled out by Brandon Mechele by the very end of the game. At the Duden park, Union took a 2-0 lead, again through Ivanović and an own-goal. The second half saw a feisty Club, however, clawing its way back into the game and claiming a draw after Chemsdine Talbi and Gustaf Nilsson scored to make it 2-2.
Last Sunday's emphatic win at Gent (0-5) was one for the history books, as Club never managed to score more than it did just a few days ago. The 0-4 of 2021 was outdone, and it's also the first time a Play-Off 1 team wins an away game by so large a margin.
Widening the gap at the top of the top scorers table, Tzolis added two to make it 12 in the league so far. The Greek also continues his impressive streak of being involved in at least one goal in every single play-off game so far. In his 500th appearance for Club, Hans Vanaken added another assist, making him the most prolific of the JPL in that respect.
A win for Club Brugge on Thursday means it will definitely feature in Europe again next season. That would be Club's 54th European campaign, with an uninterrupted run of 32 years right now.
A clean sheet for Club in its last two home games, keeping both Anderlecht (2-0) and Genk (1-0) at bay without conceding. It has happened only once that Club managed to keep their opponents from scoring in three consecutive home games (back in 2019).
The Opponent
Next up on Thursday will be R.Union Sint-Gilloise. The visitors have been in quite the form of late. Whereas they handed away a large lead in the last play-off by suffering defeat in their first four games, they now did the reverse by winning all four games so far. Last team to faulter was league leaders KRC Genk in what turned out to be their first home defeat of the season (1-2).
So far this calendar year, USG only lost twice: back in February at home against KV Mechelen (0-1) and on the final match day of the regular league away at KRC Genk (2-1). No JPL-team has managed to win as many league games as Union has so far 2025 (12).
With 15 goals so far, Promise David is the team's top scorer. With five goals in these play-offs, he has proven decisive in every single play-off game.
5 players top the assist table at Union: Anouar Ait El Hadj, Alessio Castro-Montes, Promise David, Franjo Ivanović and Anan Khalaili all have 4 assists to their name.
Coach Sébastien Pocognoli will not be able to count upon Ousseynou Niang (suspended). The 23-year old from Senegal featured in Union's Starting XI in every Play-Off game so far. No Vic Chambaere in the team selection either. Anan Khalaili will have to avoid a booking in order not to miss out on Union's home game against Club in a few days.
Milestones
- Mignolet could be playing at Club for the 290th time.
- Both Chemsdine Talbi and Christos Tzolis are up for a 50th appearance for Club Brugge.
- Playing time for Hugo Siquet would mean he has worn the Club Brugge jersey 25 times.
- Hans Vanaken could be making this the 370th league game at Club.
The Man in Black
Tonight's clash will be directed by Mr. Erik Lambrechts, backed by his linesmen Mr. Jo De Weirdt and Mr. Kevin Monteny; fourth official will be Mr. Wim Smet. In charge of VAR will be Mr. Bert Put, assisted by Mr. Koen Thijs.
In 42 official Club games with Mr. Lambrechts in charge, Club played 25 home games. Earlier this season, Mr. Lambrechts already handled the whistle in the league game against Union (1-1), and in the away at FCV Dender (1-2) and at home against KV Mechelen (1-1).