Sint-Truidenvs.Dender

The visitors, who have hit the ground running in the big leagues, will journey to the Daio Wasabi Stayen Stadium seeking to make it three wins from three games and climb to the top of the standings.

Match preview

Sint-Truiden were left empty handed yet again as they suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat at the hands of Royal Antwerp when the two sides squared off last Sunday.

Swedish forward Jacob Ondrejka grabbed the headlines at the Bosuilstadion as he scored a second-half hat-trick to inspire the hosts to their second win of the campaign, with Ryoya Ogawa getting on the scoresheet for the visitors in the 54th minute.

Christian Lattanzio's men have now lost each of their first three games this season, kicking off the campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Anderlecht on July 27, one week before suffering a 4-1 home loss at the hands of Sporting Charleroi.

Sint-Truiden's stuttering start to the season has been owing to their defensive vulnerability, an issue Lattanzio will need to fix sooner rather than later, as they have shipped 11 goals already — four more than any other side in the division.

Dender, on the other hand, turned in another impressive team display last Saturday as they cruised to a 4-1 victory over 10-man Kortrijk at the Van Roystadion.

In a game where Mark Mampasi received his marching orders, Roman Kvet and Bruny Nsimba scored to put the hosts in a commanding lead, and after Tomoki Takamine pulled one back for Kortrijk in the 39th minute, Mohamed Berte netted a second-half brace to put the result beyond doubt.

This was a second consecutive victory for Dender, who secured automatic promotion to the top Belgian flight last season after picking up 54 points from 30 games to finish second in the Challenger Pro League.

Vincent Euvrard's men kicked off the campaign with a goalless draw against Union Saint-Gilloise on July 27, one week before edging out Gent 2-1 at the Planet Group Arena courtesy of goals from Jordy Soladio and Berte.

Dender are currently on a run of four back-to-back competitive away wins, scoring seven goals and keeping three clean sheets since the start of March, and could move top of the table with all three points this weekend.

Sint-Truiden Belgian Pro League form:

Sint-Truiden form (all competitions):

Dender Belgian Pro League form:

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W

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Dender form (all competitions):

Team News

Sint-Truiden defender Rein Van Helden was forced off injured late in the game against Antwerp last weekend and the 22-year-old is a doubt for Saturday's tie.

Should he fail to shake off the injury, Zineddine Belaid should return to the XI for his third start of the season, forming the three-man defence with Bruno Godeau and Shogo Taniguchi.

Isaias Delpupo recently completed a move from Serie A side Cagliari and the Argentine midfielder could be handed his debut this weekend.

Meanwhile, Dender will take to the pitch without the duo of Jasper Van Oudenhove and 22-year-old Abdoulaye Yahaya, who have been ruled out through muscle injuries.

Experienced forward Michael Lallemand, who scored four goals in the Challenger Pro League last season, is also recuperating from an ankle injury and will play no part in Saturday's game.

Sint-Truiden possible starting lineup:

Coppens; Belaid, Godeau, Taniguchi; Vanwesemael, Fujita, Yamamoto, Ogawa; Bertaccini, Zahiroleslam, Ito

Dender possible starting lineup:

Verrips; Hrncar, Ruyssen, Cools, Pupe, Ferraro; Hens, Rodes, Kvet; Kandolo, Nsimba

We say: Sint-Truiden 1-2 Dender

Still reeling from their humiliating defeat against Antwerp, Sint-Truiden will head into the weekend looking to restore some pride and end their poor run of results. However, Dender have hit their stride early and we predict they will do just enough to secure the win on Saturday.

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