Cercle Brugge vs Gent Predictions

Cercle Brugge did taste defeat last time out, though since that was their first loss of the campaign, it’s fair to say that the newly promoted team have made a pleasing start to life in the Belgian Pro League. Facing Gent is not an easy task, but the hosts will be hoping to regain the winning thread now that they’re back in front of their own fans.

They’ve not been terribly flashy, but Cercle Brugge have acquitted themselves very well since coming up. Overshadowed by their title-winning city rivals, Laurent Guyot’s men would’ve been expected by many to struggle this season, though if the early weeks are anything to go by, they’re going to be just fine.

Gent have looked more than useful this season, so this won’t be simple for the hosts, though Cercle do have the benefit of facing the visitors after they’ve just returned from a mid-week game away in France. What’s more, Brugge have been in excellent scoring form on their own patch this season. Their first match at Jan Breydel Stadium saw them notch three against Lokeren, while they repeated the feat against Waregem in their second match in front of their own fans. Such scoring form bodes well ahead of a match against a Gent side that has been conceding regular goals on their travels.

At times, the visitors have looked strong this season; they’ve competed offensively, while a couple of their performances have been eye-catching. That said, Yves Vanderhaeghe’s men have struggled to keep things tight at the back in most of their matches, especially those that have been played away from the comforts of home. They found it tough to contain Bordeaux on Thursday night, which can perhaps be excused, though it’s not as if that was the first time that Gent have looked weak defensively.

During both of their away matches in the league, Gent have failed to compete from a defensive point of view. On match-day one, Liege notched three goals against Vanderhaeghe’s back-line, while Sunday’s visitors were similarly weak at the back when facing Eupen on match-day three. They came out on top on that occasion, but it wasn’t thanks to their defence, as they conceded twice in the process.

Given how the visitors have fared from a defensive point of view, especially on the road, coupled with both the fact that they had to play away in France on Thursday and the fact that Cercle Brugge have done well going forward on their own patch, and the bet that stands out at the prices is ‘Cercle Brugge to Score Over 1.5 Goals’.