Sunday will see four of Belgium's top football clubs face off in the Jupiler Pro League's first math day of 2023. At 18:30, Anderlecht and Union Saint-Gilloise will play each other in the Brussels derby. Earlier in the day, league champions Club Brugge will face the league leaders Genk.
This weekend has offered up some tasty ties in the Jupiler Pro League for Belgian football fans, the first set of matches to be played in 2023.
Multiple clubs will be looking to move further to the top of the table, as current champions Club Brugge will face league leaders Genk on Sunday, followed by the Brussels derby opposing Anderlecht and Union Saint-Gilloise.
Playing at 18:30, Anderlecht will attempt to improve their woeful record of five consecutive losses to their local rivals since Union's promotion to the Belgian first division in 2021.
Translation of tweet: "Sunday, another Brussels derby! Let's take a look back at the very first derby between RSCA and Union played on 25 September 1921 in Anderlecht."
Traditionally the capital's most successful club, Anderlecht have gone through somewhat of a nadir since club legend Vincent Kompany left as head coach. He was replaced by, funnily enough, Union Saint-Gilloise's former manager Felice Mazzù, who was viewed as a miracle worker after Union's surprise second place finish in the league last season, having only just been promoted.
However, his switch to Anderlecht quickly turned sour as he was unable to produce the same magic he had at Union. Mazzù was fired in October after a loss to the club's other traditional rivals Standard de Liège.
As a result, Anderlecht's fans will want their new coach Brian Riemer to give them a fresh start to the new year by putting a stop to their rut against Union Saint-Gilloise. Union on the other hand, will want to see their coach Karel Geraerts cap off his birthday week, which he celebrated on Thursday, with a sixth consecutive win against their rivals.
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Furthermore, Sunday will also see British manager facing the unenviable task of coming up against Genk who are flying at the top of the Jupiler Pro League.
This will be Parker's first match in charge, having just replaced former coach Carl Hoefkens who was not meeting the board's lofty ambitions of retaining their league title.
