Will the champions continue their form from last season?

After 90 long years, the time had finally come again this summer and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise celebrated winning the national championship for the first time. At one point, it didn’t look like it would happen, as the regular season ended in third place, 13 points behind Genk. However, a strong finish was enough to secure the title. We take a closer look at whether the Brussels team has been able to maintain its form during the summer break in our Antwerp vs. Union St. Gilloise betting tip.

One thing is clear: the Reds have a lot to make up for. Antwerp once again failed to qualify for international competition, which is why there was a reset in the summer. Under coach Stef Wils, the recent test match results have been positive. However, the first competitive game is now on the agenda. And when predicting Antwerp vs. Union St. Gilloise, it must also be taken into account that the Flemish side have won only two of their last 15 games in the Belgian Pro League (six draws, seven defeats).

It therefore makes perfect sense to bet on the capital club opening the 2025/26 season with an away win at the Bosuilstadion. RUSG suffered a setback in the Super Cup last Sunday, losing 2-1 to Club Brugge. However, in their last away game at Royal Antwerp, the Blue and Yellows celebrated a resounding 4-0 away win, which was another piece of the puzzle on their way to the title. The last three league games have also all gone to the Brussels team.

Antwerp – Statistics & current form

Belgian traditional club Royal Antwerp – also known as “The Great Old” – is facing a fresh start after the 2023 champions once again failed to qualify for European competition following a disastrous end to the 2024/25 season. After winning only two of their last 14 league games (six draws, six defeats), the Reds finished fifth in the championship round, which meant they had to enter the playoffs for the Conference League qualifiers.

In that very game, however, there was another setback: a 1-2 defeat to Sporting Charleroi – the club that finished nine points behind Flanders in the regular season and only managed tenth place. It was also the last match under Andries Ulderink, who has now been replaced on the sidelines by Stef Wils. Under the 42-year-old, the clear goal is now to qualify for the championship group again and secure a place in Europe.

Will Antwerp’s pragmatic transfer strategy pay off?

In any case, the preparations are certainly giving cause for hope after a very pragmatic transfer strategy in the summer. There were no big names, but many solid new signings from home and abroad, such as Thibo Somers from Cercle Brugge, Daam Foulon from KV Mechelen and Mukhammadali Urinboev from Uzbek champions Pakhtakor. After losing their first friendly 0-1 to Zulte Waregem, the Reds went on to win every game, including a 2-1 victory over Nordsjaelland.

Now, however, the first competitive game since May is on the schedule, and it’s a must-win. The bookmakers don’t believe that Stef Wils will be able to turn things around immediately. At Betano, where new customers can get an exclusive Betano bet, odds of 3.35 are being offered for a home win for ‘The Great Old’ against Union St. Gilloise, which is certainly also due to the fact that the last three league games against RUSG were all lost 2-11. In their last home game at the Bosuilstadion, the Reds suffered a crushing 0-4 defeat and are now looking for revenge.

Union St. Gilloise – Statistics & current form

The Royale Union Saint-Gilloise – RUSG for short – has been sniffing around the championship title time and again in recent years, but has also tragically squandered large leads from the regular season in the championship round. Ninety years after their last championship title, the 2024/25 season, the debut season under Sébastien Pocognoli, was finally supposed to be the one. Although the Unionistes were 13 points behind KRC Genk after 30 matchdays of the regular season, they clinched the title with an almost perfect championship round.

The Blue and Yellows picked up an incredible 28 out of a possible 30 points in their ten games, scoring 22 goals and conceding just three, to be crowned deserved champions. As a result, the capital club will also be in the draw for the Champions League group stage in a few weeks’ time. The Brussels club can now make its long-awaited debut in Europe’s premier competition, although it may need to make some moves in the transfer market to compensate for the unfamiliar triple burden.

Union St. Gilloise avoids sell-off

The first championship title since 1935 aroused interest, but the feared sell-off did not happen. Nevertheless, two key players, Noah Sadiki (Sunderland) and Koki Machida (Hoffenheim), left the club, while Mohamed Amoura, who scored 13 goals in 2023, was sold to VfL Wolgsburg on a permanent basis. So far, two new signings have been announced: Raul Florusz (Olimpija) and Adem Zorgane (Charleroi). With a well-coordinated team, the Unionistes were already in good early form in their competitive debut last Sunday in the Super Cup against Club Brugge, although it was not enough for victory in the end despite a 1-0 lead at one point (final score: 1-2).

However, it should be noted that the club, which was able to keep its core intact and looked very well-rehearsed against Bruges, is setting its sights low in terms of objectives. Officially, the goal is to finish in the top four, not to become champions again. At least secretly, however, the champions will certainly be hoping to be in contention at the top again until the end. To this end, it would be all the more advantageous if the tip for the first three points for the Blue and Yellows came true in the opening game between Antwerp and Union St. Gilloise.

Antwerp – Union St. Gilloise Head-to-head record / H2H record

Head to head: 24 – 10 – 16

The two clubs have met 50 times, with Royal Antwerp leading the head-to-head record with 24 wins. Recently, however, the Brussels side has had the upper hand, not only winning the last away game at the Bosuilstadion 4–0, but also winning the last three league games against the Reds with a combined score of 11–2. In the cup, however, “The Great Old” prevailed 5–1 in January this year.

Antwerp – Union St. Gilloise Tip

All in all, we are sticking with our prediction for Antwerp against Union St. Gilloise, as we believe that the well-rehearsed champions have been able to maintain their form over the summer break and will now pick up where they left off in the Pro League with three points. After all, the Reds have won only two of their last 15 competitive games (six draws, seven defeats) and have yet to show that they have recovered from the recent disappointments that accompanied their failure to qualify for European competition once again.

Things could well get lively at the Bosuilstadion on Friday evening. It would therefore be conceivable to either go for over goals (over 2.5 goals) or hedge your bets with a combined tip on double chance X2 with over 1.5 goals against the eventuality of a draw. However, as RUSG put in a good performance as a team last Sunday despite losing 1-2 in the Super Cup, we are going to go for a direct bet, which ultimately offers the highest odds and the best balance between risk, probability and potential winnings.