Club Brugge vs Cercle Brugge Prediction 26.05.2024

• Competition: Belgium - JPL Champion' Play-Offs
• Date: Sunday, 26th, May 2024
• Kickoff: 17:30 UTC +1 / 18.30 CEST
• Venue: Jan Breydel Stadion (Brugge)

Club Brugge clashes with their cross-town rivals Cercle Brugge at Jan Breydel Stadium, knowing that avoiding defeat on the concluding day of the playoff round will earn them the Jupiler Pro League title.

Club Brugge vs Cercle Brugge Betting Tips: OVER 2.5

Despite kicking off the Championship playoff with a whopping nine-point deficit behind the then-league leaders Anderlecht, the giants based in Bruges staged a stunning revival in their fortunes to come within inches of reclaiming the Belgian throne after just 12 months.

In their nine playoff matches played to date, Club Brugge have amassed an eye-catching tally of 22 points on the table, courtesy of seven triumphs and two draws, with last week's significant victory over Anderlecht in the top-table clash catapulting them into the driver's seat in the title race, thanks to Denis Odoi's solitary strike.

Heading into the final playoff matchday in pole position with a three-point cushion over the point-matching pair of Royale Union SG and Anderlecht, Nicky Hayen's troops are just a point shy of winning their fourth Belgian title in the past five seasons, and their home form is screaming championship material, having garnered 10 out of 12 points on offer and rattled the net 12 times during that spell.

Still, Blauw-Zwart must tread carefully in the upcoming city derby on Sunday, considering they have failed to find a winning formula against their Bruges rivals Cercle in any of their three encounters this season, while they were forced to settle for draws in each, including a 1-1 stalemate when the two sides locked horns earlier in the playoffs.

As is well known, the opposite end of the pitch sees Cercle Brugge's side still entangled in the race for a European finish, as they are just a solitary point adrift of the fourth-placed team, effectively meaning that avoiding defeat in the Bruges derby, coupled with Royale Union's triumph over Genk, brings them a playoff clash for the European Conference League berth.

Interestingly, Groen en Zwart have left a much better impression on the road than at their own backyard and will aim to spoil the championship party for their arch-rivals, but a broader overview of their direct clashes with Club Brugge doesn't bring encouraging news, considering that Cercle has only managed to secure full points once in 17 encounters, suffering 10 defeats in the process.

Considering Club Brugge's struggle to defeat their bitter rival, we'll skip the final outcome and focus on goals, as we anticipate the season-ending Bruges derby to be much juicier and intriguing compared to the previous three. At their home turf, Blauw-Zwart tends to find the net with flair, with each of their four home playoff fixtures seeing at least three goals, and Cercle's attacking prowess promises an entertaining end-to-end affair.