Standard vs. Cercle Brugge Prediction, Tips & Odds – Aug. 7, 2022 13:30 CET
Standard collected only one point in the first two rounds and if they don’t win this weekend, it will become clear that battle for top 5 isn’t realistic.
Our betting experts found the best odds for this game at the popular UK betting site Unibet. You will get an attractive Unibet Welcome offer if you register a new account. More information about Unibet sign-up offer you can find here.
Standard
For several years now, Standard has been far from the top of Belgian football. Last season they finished in a low 14th place, and it is clear to everyone that certain changes are necessary. This summer, they hired Ronny Deila as the new head coach. He won titles with Celtic and Stromsgodset, but in Standard, the task will be to be in the mix for the top 5 and a spot in the Conference League qualifying next season.
That task will be extremely difficult as Standard is currently even weaker than it was in May. Several players left, including Jackson Muleka and Samuel Bastien. Only two players signed for Standard during the summer: Jacob Barrett Laursen and talented Noah Ohio. Definitely, that is not enough for a better result than last season.
In first two rounds, Standard collected only one point, although they had two extremely difficult opponents. In the first round, they played 2:2 against Gent, even though they had ten players since the 15th minute. Genk defeated them 3:1 last week, and now they will play for the first time against a club of similar quality.
Cercle Brugge
After three years of fighting to avoid relegation, Cercle Brugge finally had a season without too much stress. They finished last campaign in the Jupiler League in tenth place, and they will aim for that position once again. Looking at budgets, Cercle Brugge is among the cheapest teams in the league, but that is not always decisive for a good result.
Cercle Brugge changed several players during this summer. In an exchange with Monaco, they got goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki, while right-back Heitor arrived on loan from Internacional. He will replace Vitinho, who signed for Burnley. Cercle Brugge paid 1.5 million euros to Kashima for striker Ayase Ueda, and they hope that he could have a double-digit number of goals this season.
In the second round played last week, Cercle Brugge made a big surprise. At home, they beat Anderlecht 1:0, although the visitors played with ten players from the 35th minute due to a red card. Against Standard, any result except defeat will be a success.
H2H
Both matches that Standard and Cercle Brugge played against each other last season ended 1:1. Before that, Standard had five consecutive wins. Cercle Brugge achieved last win against Standard in the Belgian Cup back in 2013. After that, they didn’t win in the next 11 games and that streak is alive.
Injuries
Abdoul Tapsoba and Nathan Ngoy didn’t play for Standard against Genk and they are questionable for this game. David Sousa and Emilio Kehrer won’t be able to help Cercle Brugge in this match either due to injuries.
Standard vs. Cercle Brugge Prediction
Standard won’t be the favorite in many matches this season. This duel against Cercle Brugge at home is a unique opportunity for them to achieve a win. Against Gent, they showed that they can play at a high level and if they repeat a similar performance, they should be able to achieve a triumph or at least to draw. In that case, this bet will be void.
Date and Time: 07.08.2022 13:30 CET
Pick: Standard +0 (AH)
Odds: 2.06
Prediction: Unibet
