Dender (2nd, 51 points, to Francs Borains): Timmy’s block but no fans
A victory against the saved Francs Borains and Dender will accompany Beerschot in D1. It would be a huge surprise for a club which was still in D3 two years ago (despite a short stint in D1 between 2007 and 2009). Taken over by an Indonesian investor in 2015, Dender is not a rich club. The team was not built to go up, but coach Timmy Simons managed to create a block, particularly around scorer Nsimba.
Via the final round, you will have to play 5 more matches to hope to move up.
By taking only 58% of the units put into play, Dender had a decent season but also benefited from the astonishing dispersion of points. The Challenger Pro League is a dense competition where the gaps are small this season.
In the event of a rise, the Dender stadium is ready for the elite, even if it is a little outdated, even old-fashioned. The problem comes more from the attendance with only 989 supporters on average at home this season. This is three and a half times less than in Eupen, the D1 team with the lowest attendance.
Deinze (3rd, 50 points, in Seraing): ambition but a failing stadium
In two years, SK Deinze will celebrate its 100th anniversary. And for the first time in its history, he could join the elite. If Dender does not win, Deinze will move up if successful against Seraing, the penultimate. This is the ambition of management. Even more so since 2022 and the takeover by Singaporeans.
But all is not rosy for this team stuck between Ghent and Kortrijk. The stadium is not up to Pro League standards and this could become a real problem. The management had considered a move to Mouscron but the stadium is too far away in the eyes of the regulations. A new stand was built to enter the nails but it cannot be used following a complaint from a contractor.
Ranked 4th and after a victory at Anderlecht, Marc Grosjean is dismissed from Deinze!
With the former Zèbre Hendrickx and the ex-Montois De Belder, Deinze has a team of players accustomed to D2 but wishes to invest to strengthen the core in the event of promotion. Since 2015, 16 million have been injected into the club.
Lommel spent 3 million on a player, the Patro offers salaries of €500,000 per year.
Lommel (4th, 49 points, v. Beveren): City’s little brother but irregular
Lommel has two teams to dribble past in a bid for direct promotion but must still look behind to secure the final round. A strange last day for a strange club. Lommel SK no longer has much to do with the former stable resident of D1 that it was in the 90s. This club has also disappeared and the team has been resurrected from the ashes (and the number) from Overpelt.
Today, Lommel is one of Manchester City's many little brothers. A satellite which is capable of buying a Hungarian talent (Vancsa) for three million while having its own limited cash flow, in particular because of a very relative popularity (1,300 spectators on average). Which gives significant structural losses: 33 million over the last three seasons.
Not a big problem for City who would like to see Lommel one floor higher. To try to give collective strength to a sum of talents who think more about their career than the history of the Limburg club, a few experienced Belgians were hired (Wouters, Schoofs, Vetokele, etc.). But the team remains very irregular and difficult to define.
Zulte Waregem (5th, 48 points, v. Lierse): experience but pressure
Zulte Waregem stands out in the Challenger Pro League. Because it is one of the few clubs still in Belgian hands. And because he can boast of having a Golden Boot (Vormer) and a former goalscorer with the Devils (Vossen) at his core. But everything was not easy for the Belgian vice-champion team ten years ago.
If there remains a very slim hope of direct promotion, the Flandriens above all want to secure the final round and succeed in taking the last ticket to the elite after the five necessary matches. For the future of the club, it is almost vital. During his descent last year, management had opted for an ambitious strategy by retaining (almost) the lifestyle of the D1, via a capital increase of 16 million last summer. Which creates a lot of pressure.
If Zulte Waregem fails to move up, the future of the club will not yet be called into question, but we will have to tighten our belts and several big contracts will have to go. This is sometimes how certain clubs get bogged down for a long time in D2. With the host of the Arc-en-ciel stadium on Friday as the best example: Lierse.
Patro Eisden (6th, 48 points, at Beerschot): a rich man promoted but doubts about the Americans
Arriving from D3 this season, Patro Eisden still believes in a double promotion, especially by traveling to Kiel (sold out) where Beerschot has been celebrating since its title. But don't imagine the Limburg club as Tom Thumb. We are more of an American production, with New York investors at the helm.
Le Patro offered some big salaries this season, notably to attract Stef Peeters, who was Eupen's playmaker. He earns €500,000 per year in D2, which many elite players can only imagine in their dreams. With Van Eenoo, Pietermaat and Corstjens, the club coached by Stijn Stijnen has other former D1 sure values.
Stijnen suspended six games for slapping his brother on the bench: Stijn is worse than Hein
But all is not rosy in Eisden. The stadium is old despite a refreshed stand and the Americans' money still has no clear source. The Dutch federation had also refused to allow them to buy Vitesse. A clarification on the finances: the club sold its player Hadj-Moussa for 4 million to Feyenoord a few days ago. He came to the fore this season via a loan to… Vitesse.
FC Liège is the only Walloon club in professional football that can have a smile this season.
FC Liège (7th, 46 points, v. Jong Genk): a promoted player having fun but limited
FC Liège is the only French-speaking club in the Challenger Pro League. The promoted from D3 has already had a successful season by quietly settling in one floor higher. But among the Sang et Marine, we want to play hard and take part in the final round. For that, the plan is simple: win against the U23s of Genk and hope for a hiccup in front. Liège only has one team to dribble to qualify.
If the rise was studied by the general director Pierre François, with a move to Sint-Truiden to have a compliant stadium, this is not the ambition of the season. American investors arrived in January and the return to D1 is planned later. Ideally with a new stadium project launched.
With more than 2,000 supporters on average, the Rocourt club progresses each season, notably under the leadership of coach Gaëtan Englebert who also has an important perspective on recruitment. But budgets remain tight, with salaries quite low, far from elite standards.
Beveren (8th, 45 points, v. Lommel): in good shape but a miracle is needed
After narrowly failing last season, Beveren absolutely wanted to come back this year. But it would take a miracle for the Waeslandians to participate in the final round, having to count on two positive results elsewhere in addition to a victory over Lommel, still a candidate for direct promotion.
It must be said that the American owner did not want to spend as much money as last year. He hoped to do better with a little worse. Without Mbokani's goals and the other striker Barry (left for FC Basel), Beveren lost many balanced matches, those where offensive talent often makes the difference.
Since the punishment suffered in Liège (5-1) which had the skin of coach Wim De Decker, the Beverenois have won two matches in a row and hope to land in the final round with the label of scratching hair.
Instructions for the climb
– The 1st and 2nd go directly to the Pro League
– Teams ranked 3rd to 6th qualify for the final round
– The 3rd receives the 6th, the 4th receives the 5th in one round
– The two winners face each other back and forth
– The winner faces the 2nd ranked playdowns in a round trip
– The winner moves up/stays in the Pro League
