Cercle Brugge vs Zulte-Waregem preview

Belgium flag 2025/2026 Pro League, Belgium
Jan Breydelstadion Fri, 1 May - 6:45 PM
Pro League
Cercle Brugge CBR
Zulte-Waregem ZUL
KICKOFF : Fri, 1 May - 6:45 PM
Round 5 Relegation Round

CONTEXT

In the Pro League's Relegation Round at Jan Breydelstadion, Cercle Brugge hosts Zulte-Waregem in a crucial 2025/2026 season clash. Cercle enters with a power score of 25.79, giving them a 2.3-point edge over Zulte's 23.47, marking them as the stronger side overall. Despite Zulte's marginally better form score of 23.11 against Cercle's 22.89, the home team sits at 15th in the league while Zulte occupies 13th, intensifying the battle for survival. Both teams lack recent outing details, and advanced metrics like efficiency and set pieces show low confidence due to unavailable xG data. Cercle benefits from home advantage and superior power ratings, potentially controlling structure and transitions. Zulte's form hints at resilience, but Cercle's raw strength could prove decisive in this tight encounter.

TL;DR

  • Structural: Cercle Brugge possesses a structural advantage with a 2.3-point power score lead over Zulte-Waregem.
  • Form: Zulte-Waregem holds a slight form edge at 23.11 compared to Cercle Brugge's 22.89.
  • Squad: Cercle Brugge's higher power score of 25.79 suggests superior squad quality versus Zulte-Waregem's 23.47.
  • Efficiency: Efficiency metrics are unavailable for both teams in this matchup.
  • Transition: Cercle Brugge's power advantage positions them better for effective transitions.
  • Set pieces: Set piece data for both teams relies on low-confidence proxies with no xG available.
  • xVariable: xG data absence limits insight into variable performance factors for either side.
  • Market: Cercle Brugge 50.3% (Δ+0%) | Draw 24.5% (Δ+0%) | Zulte-Waregem 25.2% (Δ+0%).
No standings statistics available.
No head-to-head records found.
0.5+ goals: 85%
1.5+ goals: 70%
2.5+ goals: 50%
3.5+ goals: 25%
Confidence: High (≥8 matches)

Quality vs Volume

Home: xG 1.8, Shots 12, xG/Shot 0.15
Away: xG 1.5, Shots 14, xG/Shot 0.11

Open Play vs Set Play

Open Play: 65%
Set Play: 35%

Expected Points

TeamxPts
Home1.8
Away1.2
ℹ️ Methodology: Expected Goals (xG) measures shot quality
Jan 25 vs Team A
Feb 1 vs Team B
Feb 8 vs Team C
Cercle Brugge L. Friis
L. Friis
VS
Zulte-Waregem S. Colpaert
S. Colpaert
1.32
Avg Points / Game (Last 100 Matches)
1.09
2.17 i
Last 6 Opponents
Dender Rank: W
Dender Rank: W
La Louvière Rank: W
Zulte-Waregem Rank: D
Anderlecht Rank: W
La Louvière Rank: L
Avg Points / Game (Last 6 Matches)
2.17 i
Last 6 Opponents
La Louvière Rank: W
La Louvière Rank: W
Dender Rank: W
Cercle Brugge Rank: D
Sporting Charleroi Rank: W
Gent Rank: L
12
Head to Head (Wins - Draws - Losses)
12 - 9 - 14
14
No sidelined player data available.

Win Probabilities

Live Win Probability (90 Min)
Home Cercle Brugge
50.33%
Draw
24.5%
Away Zulte-Waregem
25.17%

Team Power Ranking

i
What is Power Ranking?
Power score: composite of opponent-weighted form (last 6 & 20 games) and league position over last 3 seasons.
25.79
23.47
0 (Weakest) 100 (Strongest)
Metric
Cercle Brugge
Zulte-Waregem
Power Score
25.79
23.47
League Position
15
13
Global Rank
-
-

Form Analysis Opponent-Weighted

Line chart of recent results (points/trend). Friendlies excluded by default. Hover for opponent, result, xG/xGA and power ranking — based on last 6 matches.

–
vs
Cercle Brugge — Opponent-weighted form score
Zulte-Waregem — Opponent-weighted form score
Win (3 pts) Draw (1 pt) Loss (0 pts) Cercle Brugge Zulte-Waregem

Team Head to Head Last 6 Seasons

Summary of 35 matches between these sides — filtered by competition and venue context.

Cercle Brugge CBR Home
35 matches
Zulte-Waregem ZUL Away
Match Record
12
Wins
14
9
Draws
9
14
Losses
12
Goals
56
Goals Scored
66
66
Goals Conceded
56
-10
Goal Difference
+10
Expected Goals
0
xG
0
0
xGA
0

Data last updated: 2026-04-28T00:08:29+00:00

STARTING XI - EXPECTED

Match Formation 3-5-2
Match Formation 3-4-2-1
Pitch
W. Stellion Lisboa Oliveira
1 W. Stellion Lisboa Oliveira
E. Kakou
5 E. Kakou
G. Kondo
24 G. Kondo
V. Konaté
12 V. Konaté
I. Diakité
2 I. Diakité
M. Diaby
19 M. Diaby
H. Van der Bruggen
28 H. Van der Bruggen
E. Diop
37 E. Diop
F. Jacinto Nazinho
20 F. Jacinto Nazinho
O. Diakite
10 O. Diakite
S. Ngoura
9 S. Ngoura
B. Gabriel
13 B. Gabriel
B. De Jaegere
45 B. De Jaegere
J. Kiilerich
5 J. Kiilerich
L. Lemoine
4 L. Lemoine
M. Ake
39 M. Ake
E. Lofolomo
6 E. Lofolomo
T. Claes
8 T. Claes
W. Paugain
12 W. Paugain
J. Vossen
9 J. Vossen
J. Erenbjerg
10 J. Erenbjerg
A. Ementa
18 A. Ementa

General Information

Date & Time
May 01, 2026, 06:45 PM
Competition
2025/2026 Pro League, Belgium · Round 5 · Relegation Round
Stadium
Jan Breydelstadion
Capacity
29975
Pitch Surface
Grass
Weather
☀️ 12°C, Fair

Expected Lineup

Starting XI ▼

1
Warleson
Warleson Goalkeeper
6.94
20
Nazinho
Nazinho Midfielder
7.12
2
Ibrahim Diakité
Ibrahim Diakité Midfielder
6.57
9
Steve Ngoura
Steve Ngoura Attacker
6.75
10
Oumar Diakite
Oumar Diakite Attacker
5
Emmanuel Kakou
Emmanuel Kakou Right Back
6.84
19
Ibrahima Diaby
Ibrahima Diaby Central Midfield
6.68
24
Geoffrey Kondo
Geoffrey Kondo Centre Back
7.04
28
Hannes Van Der Bruggen
Hannes Van Der Bruggen Central Midfield
6.8
37
Edan Diop
Edan Diop Central Midfield
7.02
12
Valy Konaté
Valy Konaté Left Back
6.98

Starting XI ▼

13
Brent Gabriel
Brent Gabriel Goalkeeper
6.93
9
Jelle Vossen
Jelle Vossen Midfielder
6.72
10
Jeppe Erenbjerg
Jeppe Erenbjerg Midfielder
7.1
12
Wilguens Paugain
Wilguens Paugain Midfielder
6.77
39
Marley Ake
Marley Ake Midfielder
6.8
18
Anosike Ementa
Anosike Ementa Centre Forward
7.27
4
Laurent Lemoine
Laurent Lemoine Right Back
6.89
5
Jakob Kiilerich
Jakob Kiilerich Centre Back
6.73
6
Enrique Lofolomo
Enrique Lofolomo Central Midfield
6.64
8
Thomas Claes
Thomas Claes Central Midfield
6.9
45
Benoit De Jaegere
Benoit De Jaegere Left Back
6.53

CONCLUSION

Overall, the structural indicators point toward Cercle Brugge holding the stronger pre-match profile. Power rankings give Cercle Brugge a 2.3-point edge. External projection is Cercle Brugge 50.3%, draw 24.5%, and Zulte-Waregem 25.2%. That projection profile aligns with the structural signals. The balance of play should hinge on execution in transitions and set-piece phases.