Standard Liege and Union Saint-Gilloise played two high-scoring matches in the Belgium Pro League last season.
Fans have become accustomed to these teams racking up goals in head-to-head meetings.
Our 2 goals. ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/iE5iWZbgGp— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) August 2, 2023
Our 2 goals. ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/iE5iWZbgGp
Their last six head-to-head matches produced 23 goals, as the matches averaged 3.83 goals each.
Union Saint-Gilloise were 2-0 winners over Brussels Derby rival Anderlecht.
Striker Dennis Eckert-Ayensa and Cameron Puertas got onto the scoresheet for the Canaries in a fiery match.
Stand Liege, on the other hand, fell to Sint-Truiden 1-0 on opening day in Belgium.
New manager Carl Hoefkens couldn’t lead the Reds to a first victory as head coach. Hoefkens, 44, joined Standard Liege in July as manager.
Liege finished sixth last season and four points off the top-four championship playoffs.
However, the club were 20 points off Union Saint-Gilloise in the standings. USG finished second in the regular season behind Genk due to goal difference.
Union lost the title on the final day of the playoffs, losing to Club Brugge, while Royal Antwerp drew with Genk.
The title went to Antwerp rather than Union Saint-Gilloise.
Union Saint-Gilloise are owned by Tony Bloom, who uses the same smart scouting network that Premier League club Brighton employ.
The team signed Alexis Mac Allister’s brother, Kevin, in the offseason, Mac Allister started at right centre-back against Anderlecht.
The Canaries sold striker Victor Boniface for over €20 million in the offseason along with several other players for a few million euros here and there. The money was reinvested in low-cost talent, with high upsides.
Manager Alexander Blessin uses a 3-4-2-1 formation. Eckert-Ayensa will likely lead the attack, with Puertas and Mathias Rasmussen playing behind him.
Blessin will likely be without Henok Teklab due to an injury. Centre-back Ross Sykes is also likely to sit out thanks to an injured knee.
Hoefkens used a 4-1-4-1 formation against Sint-Truiden. It is a very defensive formation, with two banks of four and a defensive midfielder in between them.
The manager has no fresh injuries to worry about. Hoefkens’ biggest concern will be where the goals are going to come from.
Philip Zinckernagel led Standard in goals last season, with nine in the Pro League. He now plays for rivals Club Brugge.
Former RB Leipzig player Noah Ohio started in attack against Sint-Truiden. He could make way after making little impact in round No 1.
Friday night’s match should be another high-scoring affair between these teams. Union Saint-Gilloise should post a win at full-time, 3-1, as they stay unbeaten against an underwhelming Standard Liege.