Sporting Charleroi vs Royal Antwerp

Stade du Pays de Charleroi is the venue as Sporting Charleroi and Royale Antwerp go head-to-head in their opening 2024/25 Belgian Pro League encounter.

Last season was a disaster for Sporting Charleroi as they barely avoided relegation to the second tier, finishing 13th in the Belgian Pro League table. They long seemed destined for a drop before a scintillating five-game winning streak toward the end of the campaign helped them salvage their top-flight status. Keen to piece together a more peaceful season in 2024/25, Charleroi swapped managers earlier this year, with Rik De Mil, who took Felice Mazzu’s place in the dugout in March, confirmed as a new permanent manager this summer. Charleroi went from strength to strength during off-season preparations, going unbeaten in all three friendlies (W2, D1) while scoring 2+ goals on each occasion.

On the other hand, Antwerp parted ways with manager Mark van Bommel following a dismal sixth-place finish in 2023/24, appointing former Westerlo boss Jonas De Roeck as the new chief of staff in the summer. After a two-game winning start to their pre-season campaign, Antwerp went winless in three consecutive friendlies (D1, L2) and will hope to improve at the beginning of the new season. Worryingly for the visiting fans, Antwerp had lost three successive competitive away matches toward the end of 2023/24, failing to get on the scoresheet twice! On top of that, the Reds have lost four of their last five league visits to Charleroi (D1), with each loss yielding a one-goal margin.