What: Belgian Pro League
Who: Zulte Waregem v Anderlecht 
When: Sunday 1st September, 2013, at 17:00 UK Time
Where: Regenboog Stadium, Waregem, Belgium

Leaving Troubles Behind

Second place grabbed last season after having been title contenders until the last round of games led to wide talk about the “miracle of Zulte Waregem”. But it was no miracle. Since businessmen Willy Naessens and Patrick Decuyper took over the club in 2011, ambitious plans to “win the title and qualify for the Champions League” have been made. No one however expected that after a disappointing 2011/12 season, with a 13th place finish, Zulte Waregem could turn into title contenders so quickly.

The Flemmish club have had a troubled summer. First, Decuyper talked about a possible move from Esseve to Antwerp, to merge with Kortrijk, sparking anger amongst the supporters. Then Decuyper himself resigned from the club’s board after being blamed over the forced appointment of Chelsea loanee Thorgan Hazard as captain, replacing veteran Davy De Fauw, to please the English club. In the meantime, Zulte Waregem were heavily beaten by PSV Eindhoven, 5-0 on aggregate, in the Champions League qualifying round.

“The level of clubs like PSV is still too high for us”, stated coach Franck Dury, honestly. In Belgium however, Zulte Waregem are still competitive, as three wins in their first four games showed. All the players who shone last season are still at the Regenboorg Stadium, including Hazard, defensive midfielder Junior Malanda and striker Mbaye Leye.

Young Dudes

Growing Up in Public, rock and roll artist Lou Reed titled his tenth album. That is perhaps the best way to describe Anderlecht’s philosophy for the 2013/14 season. The Brussels club have the best youth academy in Belgium and one of the most productive in Europe – as victory in the 2013 edition of youth competition the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament last February demonstrated.

New coach John van der Brom has been asked to give the most talented players a real chance in the first team to complete their development. Of course, the Dutchman has to win the title too, despite summer departures of established stars Lucas Biglia, Dieumerci Mbokani and Milan Jovanovic, who had all been crucial in the club winning their 32nd title last season.

Alongside established regulars such as Dennis Praet and Massimo Bruno, all eyes are on youngsters like defensive midfielder Youri Tielemans (debut made at 16 years 82 days old), central defender Chanchel Mbemba and left-winger Frank Acheampong. Another starlet is Serbian striker Aleksandr Mitrovic, bought from Partizan Belgrade for €5m, the most expensive ever transfer in the Belgian top flight.
 

 

Recent form

Zulte Waregem:
Zulte Waregem 1–1 APOEL Nicosia (22/08; Europa League)
Oostende 1–1 Zulte Waregem (25/08; Jupiler Pro League)
APOEL Nicosia 1–2 Zulte Waregem(29/08; Europa League) 

Anderlecht:
Anderlecht 4-1 Genk (11/08; Jupiler Pro League)
Waasland-Beveren 0-3 Anderlecht (18/08; Jupiler Pro League)
Anderlecht 5-2 Charleroi (25/08; Jupiler Pro League) 

Players to watch

Zulte Waregem – Thorgan Hazard: When Chelsea agreed to loan Eden Hazard’s younger brother for the second consecutive year, everybody at Zulte Waregem sighed with relief. The Flemish club had brought their most lethal weapon back home. Thorgan Hazard opened his season with a goal and assist in the 2-1 away win against Lierse, then in the fourth round scored a brace against Mons. When Hazard is in top form, Zulte Waregem can beat any side in Belgium, because no other team can count on a talented player the equal of the 20-year old left winger.   

Anderlecht – Massimo Bruno: This 20-year-old right-winger made a name for himself amongst the Anderlecht supporters when he provided the assist for the goal which took the Belgian giants into the Champions League group stage last year. Since then, Bruno has become a regular, constantly improving his performances. The Italian-rooted midfielder has had an outstanding start to the season, with five goals and two assists in five games. He was curiously voted man of the match against Waasland-Beveren, the only game so far in which he did not score or provide an assist.

Match Prediction

Last May, in the final round of the Belgian Pro League playoff, Anderlecht drew 1-1 against Zulte Waregem after having gone 1-0 down. That result kept safe the two-point lead the Brussels-side had on the Flemish outfit, and crowned Anderlecht champions. 

Even though, financially speaking, with Anderlecht’s budget three times as big as Zulte Waregem’s, there should be no contest between the two sides, the reigning champions lost more key players in the transfer market than their rivals. This means that Anderlecht are more a work in process than Zulte Waregem. While on the other hand, for the hosts, the double Europa League playoff clash could affect form.

The game looks to be very tight, but in the end Zulte Waregem will prevail 2-1.

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