Gent v Anderlecht: the leaders host an Anderlecht side under pressure

Within a few hours of each other, Gent and Anderlecht suffered the same setback: a surprise exit from the Belgian Cup, one at Rochefort, the other at Beerschot. A week later, the two clubs meet in the headline game of the ninth round of the league season.

Gent v Anderlecht kicks off on Sunday 25 October at 18:30 in Gent, pitting the league leaders against the side in fifth, six points behind them. One wants to prove the slip was an accident, the other cannot let its season unravel.

Gent and Anderlecht: a dark Sunday in the cup

Billed as a rerun of 2024, the round of 32 tie in Rochefort turned into a famous win for Rochefort. Trailing 3-1 around the hour, the D1 FFA amateurs fought back to 3-3 before winning the shoot-out 4-3. Momodou Sonko and Michel-Ange Balikwisha missed their spot-kicks, while Rochefort scored all four of theirs.

Until then, no top-flight club had gone out at this stage: the leaders were the first casualty of the round of 32, and Rochefort will be in the round of 16 on the first weekend of December.

The same Sunday evening, Anderlecht lost 2-1 at Beerschot, the Challenger Pro League leaders. Down to ten men after Ali Maamar's dismissal, already 1-0 down, they conceded a second goal before pulling one back late on. Beaten finalists in each of the last two editions, the Brussels club are out at the first hurdle.

Leaders still unbeaten in the league

For Gent, the cup exit is at odds with the rest of their season. In the league, the Buffalos have 22 points from 24, thanks to seven victories and one draw, 15 goals scored and only 4 conceded. Club Brugge and Charleroi sit a point behind, Union two.

Three days before the cup tie, they had also started their Conference League campaign with a 1-0 win over Aarhus, thanks to a header from Hyllarion Goore in the 86th minute, after he had come on in the 65th. The question is whether the night at the Parc des Roches has left a mark as a direct rival comes to town.

Anderlecht travel to Gent six points adrift

Anderlecht's week was tougher. Before Beerschot, they had lost 1-0 in Zagreb to a stoppage-time penalty: a second defeat in two Europa League games. After the cup exit, coach Vitor Bruno refused to talk about a crisis at his press conference, pointing out that his team had lost two matches, not their season.

On RTBF, pundit Philippe Albert did not spare the Brussels side: “I saw no desire, no creativity and not the right mentality to come here and get a result.” He also noted that the six changes made after Zagreb had disrupted the team's understanding.

Fifth on 16 points, Anderlecht start this trip six points behind their hosts. In a league now played with eighteen teams and no play-offs, every point dropped against a direct rival counts for more than it used to.

Gent v Anderlecht after another European night

Before Sunday, both clubs are back in Europe on Thursday: Gent travel to Braga in the Conference League, Anderlecht go to Białystok to face Jagiellonia in the Europa League. The Planet Group Arena clash therefore comes three days later, after a European away trip for each side.

In the meantime, Charleroi will have visited Antwerp on Saturday and Club Brugge will have hosted Sint-Truiden at 16:00 on Sunday: Gent will know at kick-off whether either of their two closest pursuers has taken top spot for the time being.

All of this makes the game hard to read. The table points to the Buffalos, but the cup and the European Thursday have reshuffled things on both sides: weigh the match-result odds against form and fixtures, then set your stake before placing it with our online betting in Belgium.

For Gent, the game can confirm their standing in the Jupiler Pro League title race; for Anderlecht, it can revive a season that is wobbling.