The 2021/22 Belgian Jupiler Pro League season gets underway on Friday, with Standard Liege hosting Genk in the curtain raiser.
Genk ended the regular season in fourth place last term before winning five of their six play-off games to finish level with champions Club Brugge on 44 points.
| 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗞𝗥𝗖 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗸 - 𝗦𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘀𝗸 | Onze abonnees krijgen voorrang om de beschikbare plaatsen in te nemen. Tickets kopen kan vanaf 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗴 𝟮𝟮 𝗷𝘂𝗹𝗶 𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟬.𝟬𝟬 𝘂𝘂𝗿.▶️ https://t.co/T7EiRUN8GM#krcgenk #mijnploeg pic.twitter.com/kfJaomdX0L— KRC Genk (@KRCGenkofficial) July 20, 2021
| 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗞𝗥𝗖 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗸 - 𝗦𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘀𝗸 | Onze abonnees krijgen voorrang om de beschikbare plaatsen in te nemen. Tickets kopen kan vanaf 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗴 𝟮𝟮 𝗷𝘂𝗹𝗶 𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟬.𝟬𝟬 𝘂𝘂𝗿.▶️ https://t.co/T7EiRUN8GM#krcgenk #mijnploeg pic.twitter.com/kfJaomdX0L
Meanwhile, Standard Liege finished sixth – six points behind Genk – before managing to win just one of their six play-off matches.
As a result, Standard Liege head into the new campaign on a run of four straight defeats in the Jupiler Pro League.
It’s fair to say that Standard Liege have struggled in their pre-season friendlies, too, winning just one of their six outings over the summer.
After losing to Rochefort and drawing with St. Gilloise, Standard Liege beat Cercle Brugge before recording three consecutive draws.
Still, trends show that Standard Liege have scored at least one goal in each of their previous 11 home games in the Belgian top-flight.
With over 2.5 goals coming in each of their last six home league matches, goals are expected on Friday night.
In fact, Genk have also been involved in some high-scoring clashes of late, with both teams scoring in each of their previous seven away games in the league.
Genk finished the 2020/21 campaign on a serious high, picking up six wins and one draw from their final seven matches in all competitions.
They then thrashed Termien 8-1 in their first pre-season friendly before registering another victory and two draws.
However, Genk suffered a 3-2 loss to Club Brugge in the Belgian Super Cup last weekend, having won the Belgian Cup last season.
In their final pre-season friendly, Genk crushed Maastricht 5-2 to set themselves up nicely for the campaign ahead.
Head-to-head: It is worth noting that Standard Liege have only lost four of their last 27 league meetings with Genk.
Although Genk defeated Standard Liege in the Belgian Cup last term, Standard Liege are unbeaten in five league matches in this fixture.
Team news: Standard Liege head into the new season without centre-back Merveille Bokadi, who continues to recover from an Achilles tendon rupture.
On the flip side, Genk will be without central midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt on Friday due to a knee injury.
Considering Genk have only lost one of their last 13 games in all competitions, the away side are expected to kick off the 2021/22 season with a win on Friday.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score. However, Genk are likely to come out on top.