15:00 Saturday

Charleroi vs Eupen

After finishing last season failing to get into Europe, Charleroi will be looking to progress this year and sneak into the Championship round. They have made several additions to the first team to try and achieve this, including Jonas Bager who was instrumental for Union Saint Gilloise last season but have lost a key figure in Vakoun Issouf Bayo who has signed for Watford for £5million. He will be a big loss for them and will certainly affect their attacking output. That being said, they have good attacking depth and have Youssouph Badji on loan from Club Brugge who will be a good like for like replacement. 

Eupen had a very disappointing season last year finishing fourth bottom but did have some success as they reached the Belgian Cup semi-final. They have had a massive shakeup of the squad this summer and have signed nine new first team players, so this seasons Eupen will be a completely new outfit. They come into the season off the back of a shaky pre-season which saw them win only one of their four games, but also draw 1-1 vs Ajax last Friday. They will be hoping they can get their season off to a good start this time round. 

17:15 Saturday

Zulte-Waregem vs RFC Seraing

Zulte-Waregem had a surprisingly poor season last year, finishing third bottom. They have made some good additions to their squad that were desperately needed to challenge the middle of the pack this year. Included in these signing is Laurens De Bock from Leeds United who spent the season on loan there last year. They have had a decent pre-season, beating Tubize 4-0 and drawing 1-1 with Ligue 2 clubs Valenciennes, but lost 3-1 to fellow Belgian club Oostende. With Home advantage and a few new additions to the squad, we think they’ll pip this one. 

Seraing had another successful season, securing their place in the Jupiler Pro for the second consecutive year after winning the second division play-off. An impressive feat considering they were in the Belgian First Amateur Division just three years ago. Like many in the league they have bolstered their squad over the summer and have added Sambou Sissoko from Ligue 1 club Stade Reims to their ranks. They had a good pre-season, beating both Charleroi and Sint-Truidense but were beaten 4-0 by Genk last weekend. 

19:45 Saturday

Sint-Truidense vs Union Saint Gilloise 

Sint-Truidense had a forgettable season last year as they finished middle of the pack. They will be hoping for a more successful year this time round and will be trying to get into the top eight and the European places. They have added several quality pieces to their squad, including Gianni Bruno on loan from Gent who scored 20 league goals the season before last for Zulte-Weregem. They’ve had a mixed pre-season which saw them start well with a 6-0 win vs SV Wörgl and a 4-1 win Viktoria Plzeň, but recently lost 2-0 at home to RFC Seraing. 

Union Saint Gilloise had an excellent first season in the league last year, leading most of the way but losing out in the Championship round to Club Brugge. The club owned by the same owner as Brighton are not short of financial backing and have used their connections once again to sign Simon Adingra on loan from the Seagulls. They become weaker after losing key central midfielder Casper Nielsen to Club Brugge for nearly £5million but still have the quality in the squad to perform. They will be coming into this game hoping to repeat the success of last year and have looked good in pre-season, drawing with Brighton and Lisbon in the last month and beating Feyenoord 4-0 away from home.