When you show up at the Planet Group Arena this Saturday, bring your raincoat—not for the Belgian weather, but for the storm of tension and unmet expectations that follows Standard Liège wherever they go. This is a fixture that doesn’t just sit in the fixture list. It simmers. Gent and Standard bring their own shade of blue and red to the table, but right now, the temperature on both benches is somewhere between “Could be worse” and “Absolutely boiling.”
Gent, perched in that ever-dangerous fourth spot, have the points (17) and the promises, but also the scars. Their most recent outing looked less like a football match, more like a hazing ritual, as Zulte Waregem put four past them before Omri Gandelman found the scoreboard—by then, you suspect, the comeback bus had already left the depot. Before that, Gent flashed what they can be: a methodical win over Charleroi, a swashbuckling 4-2 at Cercle Brugge, and a clean-sheet display against Dender that was so routine it might as well have involved folding laundry. But sandwiched between these moments of efficiency are the slips—one-nil down at Anderlecht, and then Waregem’s recent walloping. This is a team you watch through your fingers: capable of stringing together flowing, clinical football one week, then leaving you searching for your slippers in the dark the next.
The strange part? Gent’s volatility is somehow less worrying than Standard Liege’s ongoing existential debate. Languishing in 12th—where the view of the relegation scrap is starting to look a bit clearer by the week—Standard haven’t found the net with any regularity (just 0.3 goals per game across their last ten). Every goal feels like an event, not a trend. Their last five matches are more cold soup than hot steak: two 1-0 defeats, a limp 1-1 home draw against Mechelen, a solitary win—a 2-0 at Westerlo that feels more anomaly than blueprint—and an opening loss at Leuven that set the tone early and never wavered.
Still, football, like life, is made of matchups. And there’s plenty of intrigue swirling around. Gent are powered by a resurgent Omri Gandelman, who doesn’t so much play multiple positions as he does rent space everywhere on the pitch. Atsuki Ito is the metronome; when he hums, Gent’s pulse quickens, and goals start falling in twos and threes. Michał Skóraś brings the width, while Wilfried Kanga, with that striker’s stubbornness, has shown he can bury chances if given even a sliver of daylight in the box. This isn’t a side desperately searching for a hero—they’ve got a few, it’s just a matter of which one clocks in on Saturday.
Standard, meanwhile, are clinging to hope and the faint memory of swagger. Rafiki Saïd is the story here—his relentlessness makes him the one player who looks ready to rip up the script at a moment’s notice. And don’t sleep on Adnane Abid: if Standard can somehow conjure the belief to get the ball into threatening areas, he’s as likely as anyone to turn half-chances into something more substantial. But whereas Gent’s weapons are sharp and mostly reliable, Standard’s are blunt and buried somewhere under a fortnight’s worth of doubt.
Tactically, expect Gent to go for the jugular early—possession, quick switches, and overloads in wide areas that will test Standard’s defensive nerve. Ivan Leko’s side have averaged close to 54% possession this season, and when they get their midfield triangle clicking, it’s a long night for any opponent. The downside? When Gent commit numbers forward, they leave gaps the size of a Belgian waffle in transition, and Standard’s only real sniff could come from a quick counter: exploiting those pockets left vacant by marauding wingbacks and perhaps a lackadaisical midfield screen.
For Standard, this is less about tactical innovation, more about survival and industry. Will they sit deep and look to hit Gent on the break? Almost certainly. Their lack of goals isn’t just bad luck—it’s a symptom of a side with very little creative link-up in the final third. Yet, you never underestimate a desperate side with its back to the wall. If they can frustrate Gent early, force a few mistakes, steal a set piece or two, that’s their angle.
So what’s at stake? For Gent, this is about solidifying their place in the upper crust, keeping their noses in the European conversation, and reminding the league that when they click, few can live with them. For Standard, it’s part desperation, part redemption. Another defeat, and any pretense of mid-table respectability floats further downstream. A win, though, could be the lifeline that turns their season’s script from tragedy to comeback special.
The oddsmakers, for what it’s worth, are leaning slightly away from either side, but give Gent the edge—a 34.6% probability of an away win, versus 32.9% for the hosts. Even the bookies can’t decide if this one’s a prizefight or just two teams circling each other waiting for someone else to blink first.
Prediction? Gent have the better form, the deeper bench, and the sharper teeth. But this is Belgian football, where logic goes for waffles and anyone can beat anyone, usually when the floodlights are just right. Don’t be shocked if Gent dominate possession and chances but leave the door open just wide enough for Standard to sneak through. Still, if you’re putting a wager down, Gent look primed to take advantage of a Standard side just waiting for something—anything—to go right.
Bring your popcorn, your umbrella, and maybe a strong opinion or two. This one’s got all the makings of a real Belgian brew: bold, unpredictable, and liable to leave you scratching your head but coming back for another sip.