Belgium Pro League predictions and odds

Time and time again in betting guides and strategy tips you will come across advice to compare as many options as possible. In order to find the best betting offers, you need to be able to dig through as many as possible. Knowledge of the game is another thing you can’t really do without, though.

So, in order to prepare you for football leagues and matches you might not be as familiar with, you can find some useful information about them right here on Betting Fellow. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Belgian First Division A – the highest echelon of Belgian football.

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Belgium Pro League Predictions

20/05/2024

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Belgian First Division A History and General Info

This league is the top-level competition for professional football clubs in Belgium. The first-ever season for was held way back in 1895/96, making Division A one of the longest-standing pro football leagues in the world. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association, which later went on to be one of the founding members of both FIFA and UEFA. As of the writing of this article, UEFA’s coefficient ranking system places it as the eighth-best national league in Europe, based on performances in the last five years.

The name is a bit of a mouthful, and it was only recently accepted in place of the Belgian Pro League, by which it was known before the 2015-2016 season. However, the Leuven-based beer brewing company AB InBev has been the main sponsor of the competition for quite some time now. As such, the league is currently officially known as the Jupiler Pro League, in honour of InBev’s Jupiler beer brand.

The league system in Belgium also follows the promotion/relegation system. This means that, with the current rules, the 16th-placed team is automatically relegated to the lower-tier league – the Belgian First Division B. Conversely, the best team from the Division B is promoted to take its place.

This system went through a lot of changes, some of which happened as recently as 2016. For example, a playoff portion was added then to decide the final outcome of each season. It works as follows: the top 6 teams from the regular season enter the championship playoff. The teams then play each other twice and earn points and are ranked in the same way as during the regular season, except that the teams start with half of the points they previously earned, rounded up.

The first-placed team is, of course, named Belgium’s champion. The champion and the runner-up qualify for the 3rd UEFA Champions League qualifying round. Teams ranked 7-15 are placed in a different set of playoffs, which are used to determine qualifications for the Europa League.

Traditionally, Brugge and Anderlecht are seen as the dominant teams of the league, considering they have the most titles won; followed by Standard Liège, Gent and Genk – who were also champions in the 2018/19 season. An important thing to consider for the Belgian First Division A league betting is that this is not one of those leagues where the title always goes to one of two teams – it’s a bit more exciting than that.

Erwin Vandenbergh is seen as the league’s all-time top scorer and is the only player ever to have managed to get the top scorer title four consecutive times. In fact, he snagged the title 10 times in total during his active years in the 70s and 80s. Besides him, Victor Wegria and Josip Weber were also named top scorers 3 consecutive times each, with Wegria managing a fourth title some time later.

Since the title was only introduced in 1945, however, the person who actually scored the most goals is Bert De Cleyn with a whopping 350 goals between 1932 and 1954 with KV Mechelen.

Belgian First Division A Derby Matches

Flemish Derby

This derby is a manifestation of the well-known rivalry between Anderlecht and Club Brugge. Historically, this match-up has been known to be definitive in determining who will bear that year’s title. Both teams have very passionate fans, which makes these games intense and sometimes controversial.

Derby of Belgium

A classic derby between Anderlecht and Standard Liège, this match-up has often been described as the Belgian “Classico”. Not only does it reflect the traditional rivalry between the cities of Brussels and Liège, but also a certain class struggle: Anderlecht is usually perceived as the team of the bourgeois elite while the Standard is seen as the worker’s club. Standard’s fans are known to be particularly unruly, however, and it is not uncommon for this event to erupt in violence.

Belgian First Division A Best Stadiums

Jan Breydel Stadium

Located in Bruges, this multi-purpose stadium is the home of Club Brugge and Cercle Brugge. It was built in 1975 and boasts a capacity of around 29,000. It bears the name of a famous Belgian historical figure, and is mostly used exclusively for football matches.

Lotto Park

Up until this year, this stadium was called the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, after the sponsor. It is Anderlecht’s home turf, and one of the biggest sports arenas in the country with a capacity of 22,500, although there are plans for expansion.

Stade Maurice Dufrasne

The home ground of Standard Liège, this stadium holds some 27,000 – odd spectators. It is also known as Stade de Sclessin, from the name of the district of Liège where it is located.