Pro League: a spicy 12th matchday!

The last matchday will be remembered for its controversial refereeing, but now the 16 teams in the Belgian championship are going to need to leave controversies in the past because there are several matches coming up this weekend.

Charleroi vs Anderlecht

The duel of the Sportings is shaping up to be particularly special this season. Sporting Charleroi have had a string of defeats and Sporting Anderlecht are struggling to impress despite being 3rd in the standings. The two will battle it out on Friday evening.

In the spotlight: Rik de Mil and Besnik Hasi. The Charleroi coach has been at the center of the controversies since his failed transfer to Union. We know that if the Charleroi management hadn't blocked the transfer, the Zebras' coach would no longer be there. On the other side, Besnik Hasi is winning points, but it’s not thanks to great technique. The fans still haven’t forgiven him for the elimination in the Europa and Conference League and the level the Mauves are playing at is clearly not enough for the supporters. No matter what the result of this match is, both coaches have a lot to lose.

Gent vs Standard

Now these two teams are struggling to win points. What do they have in common? Ivan Leko. The current Buffalos coach was on the Rouches’ bench last season and if one thing hasn’t changed, it's the Croatian's outspokenness. After another heavy defeat in Zulte Waregem last weekend, Leko tore his team apart during the post-match interview. With 17 points, their scorecard isn’t measuring up and this new declaration could either cause a shockwave or damage his relationship with the locker room.

On the other side, Standard are playing better, but they aren’t winning enough points. After two defeats in a row, the Rouches won this... Monday after a rather bizarre match. While Standard were ahead 1-0 and had total control over the match, a fault from Adnane Abid earned him a red card after a VAR check. Feeling cheated by the refereeing for the third consecutive week, the fans interrupted the match several times, leading to an early end to the game. After playing the last minutes this Monday, Euvrard’s men tied it up with a win. But will they be able to do it again in Ghent in a stadium that rarely brings them much luck? Ready, set, bet!

Bet on the 12th matchday of the Pro League

This week, Circus Sport has a quiz with €1,000 up for grabs on Gent - Standard. And don’t forget to make your predictions for the Circus Challenge!