Gent and R. Union SG will battle for three points in a Jupiler Pro League Championship playoff fixture on Saturday (April 5th). The game will be played at Planet Group Arena.
The home side are coming into the game on the back of a 4-0 thrashing away to Genk last weekend. An action-packed start to the game saw Jarne Steuckers miss a 16th-minute penalty while Toluwalase Arokodare also missed from 12 yards out after having a goal disallowed.
Konstantinos Karestsas broke the deadlock in the 38th minute, while Arokodare made amends for his penalty miss five minutes into the second half. Oh Hyeon-Gyu stepped off the bench to complete the rout with a late brace.
Royale Union, meanwhile, thrashed Antwerp 5-1 at home. Anan Khalaili, Promise David, and Franjo Ivanovic scored first-half goals for the hosts, while Gyrano Kerk scored for the visitors shortly before they were reduced to 10 men. Koki Machida added a fourth in the 71st minute, while Ivanovic completed his brace with three minutes left in regulation time.
The win left them in third spot on 31 points while Gent are sixth with 23 points to their name.
Gent are in some sense in the Championship playoffs to complete the numbers as they do not realistically have any hopes of winning the league. However, potential continental qualification could be on the cards but their thrashing last weekend is indicative of the size of the task ahead.
Royale Union will be hoping to win a first league in nine decades and are competing in the Championship playoff for the fourth straight season. Les Unionistes are six points behind table-toppers Genk.
We are backing the visitors to claim a narrow victory with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Gent 1-2 R. Union SG
Tip 1 - R. Union SG to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals