Jupiler Pro League 9th playoff matchday, Monday, 20.05.2024
On the penultimate matchday of the championship play-off round of the Jupiler Pro League, the two weakest teams, Genk and Antwerp, meet on Monday evening. While the hosts will be looking to end the season on a positive note following their change of manager, the season is already over for the defending champions.
I’ll tell you why I expect goals on both sides in my Genk Antwerp betting tip. Betting provider Betano offers the best conditions for my bet with odds of 1.65.
Although both teams are separated by just five points in the table, Genk is the clear favorite according to our betting providers without tax. The maximum odds for a home win for the Blue & Whites are 1.75.
In the last away game of a rather disappointing season, Mark van Bommel’s team is not expected to win too much, as the 4.33 odds from bookmaker Bet365 for a three-pointer for the champions reveal.
Even the betting option “Double chance X2” is set pretty high with a multiplier of 2.15. However, as Antwerp have lost all of their last five competitive matches, I think the odds are reasonable
As in some other European leagues, the teams in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League are reshuffled after matchday 30.
The four weakest teams fight for survival in a play-off system, the final positions between 6th and 12th in the table are played out among themselves, and the top six teams play each other twice in a total of ten games in the championship round.
With a bit of luck, KRC Genk was the last team to qualify for the championship round with 47 points. The visitors, on the other hand, finished the regular season in third place, but have already gambled away the championship in recent weeks
In the championship round, it’s not just the 10 matchdays that count, but all the points that were scored against the competition in the top six during the regular season. With just one win from the first eight games of the championship round, the Red & Whites have been virtually out of the running for weeks.
Having finished last year’s championship round in first place with 47 points, they currently have just 27 points. The mood at “The Great Old” is accordingly extremely tense and championship coach van Bommel is also far from uncontroversial.
The last few weeks in Genk have shown just how fast and merciless things can get in the professional game. After the disappointing 4-1 defeat at Cercle Brugge, coach Wouter Vrancken had to pack his bags at the beginning of May
As in 2020, Domenico Olivieri takes over as interim head coach. The team suffered a 2:1 defeat at Anderlecht on their debut last Saturday, although “De Smurfen” put up a good fight for long stretches.
Nevertheless, the four-time Belgian champions still have the feeling that they are running out of energy in the final sprint. Alongside captain Bryan Heynen, Bilal El Khanouss is another difference-maker missing on Monday evening.
Just like the visitors, KRC Genk’s current form is clearly pointing downwards. KRC have lost all of their last 4 games, conceding a total of 13 goals in the process
One possible explanation for the lack of success is that Blauw-Wit has an extremely inexperienced squad with an average age of 23. The lack of maturity is particularly noticeable in defense.
Due to their poor performances in the league against the top six, Genk’s chances of winning the title were already extremely slim before the start of the championship round. However, after 3 wins and 10 points from the first 4 games, there were plenty of reasons to dream of Europe
On match days 5 and 6, the game against league leaders Brugge was the final straw. In comparison to the top three in the table, KRC ultimately still lacks quite a bit of quality.
As a result, both teams will have to miss out on European Cup participation for the first time again next season. Next year, Genk will once again be aiming for the championship play-offs with a new coach
Since I would rather refrain from a classic 3-way bet, the question arises as to the odds for the goal bets. Here too, values of 1.62 for the “over 2.5 goals” betting option don’t make me feel too positive.
However, in view of the two unsettled defensive lines, I think we can look forward to one or two goals. The hosts, who are usually so strong on the offensive, could potentially provide plenty of goals in the second game under Olivieri
Although the two teams have usually met more than twice a season in recent years, the encounter between Genk and Antwerp has “only” taken place 64 times. Meanwhile, the Red & Whites are clearly ahead in the direct comparison with 31 wins.
Of the three previous encounters in 2023/2024, Genk have won the last two by zero. Genk won 1:0 at De Bosuil at the beginning of April
In the duel between two teams with extremely poor form, nothing is really at stake. It is therefore difficult to predict how high the motivation level of the two teams will be.
If we see performances similar to those of the previous weeks, we can expect a less high-class encounter. However, I still see Genk as slightly stronger and think that KRC can improve on their acceptable performance against Anderlecht last weekend.
My Genk Antwerp betting tip is: Both teams meet
