Reigning champions Club Brugge will begin their defence of the Jupiler Belgian Pro League title when they welcome Genk at the Jan Breydel Stadium for the 2022/23 campaign opener on Sunday.
Club Brugge head into their opening day in good moods as they beat Belgian Cup winners Gent 1-0 in the Belgian Super Cup final last Sunday, with 39th-minute goal from Andreas Olsen proving to be enough.
Prior to that Carl Hoefkens’ side had a successful preseason run where they played five friendlies, winning three against Thes Tessenderlo (3-0), Beerschot (2-1) and Utrecht (4-2), while drawing one with Lierse Kempenzonen (1-1) and losing one to Copenhagen (4-2).
They will now be looking to continue their good form with a positive result on the opening day of the new season when Genk come calling. Last season Brugge won both games against their visitors (3-1 at home and 3-2 away), and will be looking to do the same this season.
Meanwhile Genk finished second in the Conference League Play-off Group behind Gent, after finished eighth in the regular season.
This season, Wouter Vrancken’s side will be aiming for the top for positions, and they have shown their intentions in the pre-season where they played six matches winning four and losing two.
They impressed with a 4-0 win in their last warm-up game against Seraing, which is a good confidence booster against the champions in the season opener. Genk have however, lost all their last fixtures against Brugge in all competitions and will need to be on top of their game on Sunday.
Brugge vs Genk head to head
Both sides have met in 70 encounters since 1996 with Brugge claiming 32 victories, while Genk have claimed 24 victories and there have been 14 draws.
- Brugge 3-1 Genk 20/03/22
- Genk 3-5 Brugge 01/12/21
- Genk 2-3 Brugge 28/11/21
- Brugge 3-2 Genk 17/07/21
- Brugge 1-2 Genk 23/05/21
Home
- Brugge 1-0 Gent
- Brugge 4-2 Utrecht
- Brugge 2-4 Copenhagen
- Brugge 2-1 Beerschot
- Brugge 1-1 Lierse Kempenzonen
Away
- Genk 4-0 Seraing
- Genk 0-2 AEK Athens
- Volendam 3-2 Genk
- Utrecht 1-2 Genk
- Mechelen 0-0 Genk
Brugge team news
Brugge will be without Tajon Buchanan, Denis Odoi, Antonio Nusa and Mats Rits due to injuries.
Genk team news
Genk will be without Paul Onuachu and Adnane Abid due to injury, while Mujaid Sadick will miss the game due to illness.
Prediction and odds
- Brugge win
- Both sides to score
- Goals over 2.5
