Royal Antwerp begins its title defense in Belgium on Sunday, taking on Cercle Brugge at home.
Bookmaker William Hill is offering odds at 1.73 for both teams to score in the game and the odds are at 2.00 for both teams not to score.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 29th, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
Antwerp won its fifth Belgian championship last season and ended a 66-year title drought in very dramatic fashion as Toby Alderweireld hit an injury-time screamer to rescue a draw against Genk in the final round, which proved to be a good enough result to beat Genk and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise for the title by one point.
Alderweireld is one of many big names signings Antwerp has made in recent years, and after also winning the Belgian Cup last season and the Super Cup a week ago, it’s safe to say that a sleeping giant has woken in Belgian football.
Another former Tottenham man Vincent Janssen also stood out for Antwerp last season and he’ll be expected to continue where he left. Following a disappointing Premier League career and a three-year spell in Mexico, Janssen fired himself back from obscurity, topping Antwerp’s scoring charts with 18 league goals and adding four assists. The Netherlands forward missed last week’s Super Cup triumph against Mechelen but should be good to go against Cercle Brugge.
The smaller side from Bruges was a top-six team last season following a great run of results in the playoffs and it should fill the team with confidence ahead of the new campaign. Facing the defending champions right away in the first round also provides Cercle Brugge with a great test to see if the team is ready to build on last season’s success.
Cercle Brugge has an Austrian-Bosnian manager in Miron Muslic and the team is also made up of a lot of foreigners, which certainly creates an interesting dynamic within the side. Among the foreign legion is top scorer Ayase Ueda, who made quite an impression during his first year in European football.
The Japanese forward netted 22 times in the Belgian Pro League, trailing only Gent’s Hugo Cuypers in goals. Togolese talent Kevin Denkey supported Ueda with 11 goals and eight assists, and if the two can bring their A-game on Sunday, Cercle Brugge should be able to push Antwerp all the way.
