Dender vs Zulte-Waregem preview

Belgium flag 2025/2026 Pro League, Belgium
Van Roystadion Sun, 12 Apr - 5:15 PM
Pro League
Dender DEN
Zulte-Waregem ZUL
KICKOFF : Sun, 12 Apr - 5:15 PM
Round 2 Relegation Round

CONTEXT

Dender are set to face Zulte-Waregem at the Van Roystadion in the Relegation Round of the Pro League. In the current standings, the home side hold the 16th position in the league table. Conversely, the visiting Zulte-Waregem side occupy the 13th position in the competition. Looking at recent performances, Dender's season form reads W1 D2 L3 from 6 matches. Similarly, Zulte-Waregem's season form reads W1 D1 L4 from 6 matches. Both teams will be aiming to add points to their tallies during this stage of the campaign. In their last outing, Dender registered a Win playing away against La Louvière. Meanwhile, Zulte-Waregem come into this particular fixture on the back of a Draw in their home match against Cercle Brugge.

TL;DR

  • Structural: Dender hold a +6.5 pts power-ranking advantage heading into this fixture.
  • Form: Dender sit above baseline on opponent-adjusted form.
  • Squad: No major squad or availability edge; impact is neutral.
  • Efficiency: Dender show stronger possession-adjusted chance creation in the data.
  • Transition: Dender have a moderate edge in transition threat.
  • Set pieces: Dender carry higher set-play value and dead-ball upside.
  • xVariable: Dender hold a marginal advantage on underlying metrics.
  • Market: Dender 30.2% | Draw 27.2% | Zulte-Waregem 42.6%.
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
Dender Y. Ferrera
Y. Ferrera
VS
Zulte-Waregem S. Colpaert
S. Colpaert
0.9
Avg Points / Game (Last 100 Matches)
0.9
0.83 i
Last 6 Opponents
La Louvière Rank: 68 W
Gent Rank: 71 L
Union Saint-Gilloise Rank: 84 L
Sporting Charleroi Rank: 68 D
Cercle Brugge Rank: 67 D
Sint-Truiden Rank: 76 L
Avg Points / Game (Last 6 Matches)
0.67 i
Last 6 Opponents
Cercle Brugge Rank: 67 D
Sporting Charleroi Rank: 70 W
Gent Rank: 72 L
Standard Liège Rank: 69 L
Mechelen Rank: 70 L
Anderlecht Rank: 72 L
3
Head to Head (Wins - Draws - Losses)
3 - 1 - 2
2
No sidelined player data available.

Win Probabilities

Live Win Probability (90 Min)
Home Dender
30.23%
Draw
27.17%
Away Zulte-Waregem
42.6%

Team Power Ranking

i
What is Power Ranking?
Power ranking is SportMonks' model-based team strength indicator. Historical input capped to 2 seasons.
61.39
54.87
0 (Weakest) 100 (Strongest)
Metric
Dender
Zulte-Waregem
Power Score
61.39
54.87
League Position
16
13
Global Rank
418
344

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
Dender — Opponent-weighted form score
Zulte-Waregem — Opponent-weighted form score
Win (3 pts) Draw (1 pt) Loss (0 pts) Dender Zulte-Waregem

Team Head to Head Last 6 Seasons

Summary of 6 matches between these sides — filtered by competition and venue context.

Dender DEN Home
6 matches
Zulte-Waregem ZUL Away
Match Record
3
Wins
2
1
Draws
1
2
Losses
3
Goals
8
Goals Scored
6
6
Goals Conceded
8
+2
Goal Difference
-2
Expected Goals
0
xG
0
0
xGA
0

Data last updated: 2026-04-08T02:02:07+00:00

STARTING XI - EXPECTED

Match Formation 4-2-3-1
Match Formation 3-4-1-2
Pitch
G. Gallon
93 G. Gallon
J. Sambu Mansoni
70 J. Sambu Mansoni
B. De Kerf
6 B. De Kerf
L. Marijnissen
5 L. Marijnissen
B. Goncalves
7 B. Goncalves
N. Rodes
18 N. Rodes
M. Viltard
24 M. Viltard
D. Hrnčár
20 D. Hrnčár
N. Mbamba
17 N. Mbamba
A. Jahanbakhsh
27 A. Jahanbakhsh
M. Berte
90 M. Berte
B. Gabriel
13 B. Gabriel
L. Willen
31 L. Willen
J. Kiilerich
5 J. Kiilerich
L. Lemoine
4 L. Lemoine
M. Ake
39 M. Ake
E. Lofolomo
6 E. Lofolomo
D. Asare
40 D. Asare
B. Nyssen
19 B. Nyssen
J. Erenbjerg
10 J. Erenbjerg
J. Amankwaah Opoku
22 J. Amankwaah Opoku
A. Ementa
18 A. Ementa

General Information

Date & Time
Apr 12, 2026, 05:15 PM
Competition
2025/2026 Pro League, Belgium · Round 2 · Relegation Round
Stadium
Van Roystadion
Capacity
8157
Pitch Surface
Grass
Weather
☀️ 12°C, Fair

Expected Lineup

Starting XI ▼

93
Gauthier Gallon
Gauthier Gallon Goalkeeper
90
Mohamed Berte
Mohamed Berte Centre Forward
5
Luc Marijnissen
Luc Marijnissen Left Back
6
Bo De Kerf
Bo De Kerf Right Back
7
Bryan Goncalves
Bryan Goncalves Left Back
17
Noah Mbamba
Noah Mbamba Attacking Midfield
18
Nathan Rôdes
Nathan Rôdes Defensive Midfield
24
Malcolm Viltard
Malcolm Viltard Defensive Midfield
20
David Hrncar
David Hrncar Right Wing
27
Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Alireza Jahanbakhsh Left Wing
70
Marsoni Sambu
Marsoni Sambu Right Back

Starting XI ▼

13
Brent Gabriel
Brent Gabriel Goalkeeper
19
Benoit Nyssen
Benoit Nyssen Midfielder
39
Marley Ake
Marley Ake Midfielder
18
Anosike Ementa
Anosike Ementa Attacker
22
Joseph Okopu
Joseph Okopu Attacker
10
Jeppe Erenbjerg
Jeppe Erenbjerg Attacking Midfield
31
Lukas Willen
Lukas Willen Left Back
4
Laurent Lemoine
Laurent Lemoine Right Back
5
Jakob Kiilerich
Jakob Kiilerich Centre Back
6
Enrique Lofolomo
Enrique Lofolomo Central Midfield
40
Dirk Asare
Dirk Asare Central Midfield

CONCLUSION

Dender approaches this fixture with the stronger pre-match profile, holding a 6.5-point power advantage over Zulte-Waregem. Despite this baseline metric favoring the home side, the probability projections indicate a clear divergence in expectations. Zulte-Waregem is positioned as the market leader at 42.6%, while Dender trails at 30.2% and the draw sits at 27.2%. This establishes a distinct separation between the underlying structural data and expected outcomes. Given this measurable contrast, the match outcome will heavily depend on middle-third control and defensive transitions. The final result will likely hinge on which squad manages their possession phases more effectively under strict pressure.