Zulte-Waregem
- Zulte-Waregem have lost four of their last five, following a 0-1 home loss to Standard Liège and a 2-4 defeat to Anderlecht.
- Zulte-Waregem (32 points) and Cercle Brugge KSV (31) are currently in the relegation play-downs after about 30 Pro League games.
- Caretaker manager Steve Colpaert has had to be pragmatic since taking charge in March 2026 and set up his teams to keep it tight at the back, but he may not have enough time to implement his own ideas to keep Zulte-Waregem in the top tier.
- Zulte have a flexible setup that usually overloads wide areas and relies on rapid transitions.
Cercle Brugge
- Cercle Brugge have won their last two away games at Anderlecht and Gent, but also suffered two defeats and a draw in recent weeks.
- Lars Friis, the new head coach, is more of a ‘get stuck in’ type and will try to get immediate results by tightening up Cercle’s defensive structure and instilling some discipline.
Key Players
- Jeppe Erenbjerg will again be their main hope of a goal on Saturday as he has been their most prolific player, but Marley Aké provides a different dimension with his pace and directness on the flanks.
- Colpaert cannot rely on the pair being in form or even fit enough to play, however.
- Hannes Van der Bruggen is the midfield metronome at Cercle, controlling the tempo and keeping the team together during the tough patches of games that they have experienced recently.
- He will be up against Thibo Somers, who has been the main man for Cercle, delivering vital goals and creating chances from wide positions.
- But Paris Brunner and Steve Ngoura have also obliged with some vital goals and assists, making Cercle’s attack quite unpredictable and deadly.
Betting Insights
- The bookmakers favour an outcome with over 2.5 goals and both teams to score - setting odds of 1.57 and 2.5, but we see this as a game in which one team is likely to score more goals than the other.
- Injuries to key players and the lack of squad depth on both sides will decide it for Cercle because Zulte have lost too many points because of lapses in concentration and defensive errors in the play-down phase.
Prediction
- That could make for a fast-paced game between a press-heavy Cercle and a Zulte side that rely on rapid transitions and wide overloads.
- Cercle are more likely to win away to Zulte because the visitors have the freshness of a new manager, while Zulte look like they have lost their way a little.
