Standard Liege vs Mechelen Prediction 17.01.2023

• Competition: Belgium - Jupiler Pro League
• Date: Tuesday, 17th, January 2023
• Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20.45 CET
• Venue: Stade Maurice Dufrasne (Liege)

Standard disappointed last season and played one of the weakest campaigns in the club's history. The team from Liege finished the previous competitive year in the Jupiler Pro League in a desperate 14th position. Although there is still room for improvement, Ronny Deila's team is playing much better than last term. They are currently sitting in a decent sixth position with 31 points won, but they still have the possibility to finish the regular part of the season among the top 4, since only three points separate them from that position.

In this year's edition of the Jupiler Pro League, Mechelen is not even a pale shadow of the team that led the fight for a place in European competitions last season. The popular "De Kakkers" are playing variable this season, they were in the relegation zone for a long time, but thanks to a series of decent results just before the World Cup break, Steven Defour's team managed to escape from the danger zone. After 19 rounds played, Mechelen currently occupies the 13th position with 22 points on its account, which is only five points less than the first most threatened team.

Standard Liege vs Mechelen Betting Tips: BTTS

What we can notice at the very beginning is that Standard has become Mechelen's "regular customer" in recent years. Namely, De Kakkers are on a streak of five consecutive triumphs, including a routine 2-0 victory in the first clash of the season in the Jupiler Pro League.

"Les Rouches" played great at the start of the season, but their form dropped a few rounds before the interruption of the championship. What's worse for them is that the break hasn't helped them get back to winning ways, so they're currently without a win in their last five games, including all four in the continuation of the season.

Standard's defense looks "wobbly" lately, and this is confirmed by only one clean sheet from the previous 10 games. Les Rouches will have to fix some things, otherwise they will be eliminated from the top 8 very easily.

The same picture is on the other side, Mechelen is also facing big problems in the back line this season. Despite the improvement in form, their net remained intact only once in their previous nine league games.

De Kakkers are playing very poorly outside their stadium this season. The performance of only one triumph and as many as six losses suffered is something that should worry them before the difficult visit to Liege.

Standard is very efficient when playing in front of home fans. Even 20 out of a total of 31 goals this season were scored on home turf, which is an average of two goals per match. Both Standard and Mechelen clearly have room for improvement in defense, but considering their attacking power, we expect an open duel with goals in both nets.