The Belgian Pro League is putting together one of the hotly contested title races across Europe this season. The top three are separated by just 10 points, and while that may seem a lot, everyone's points get halved when the play-offs begin.
Union Saint-Gilloise currently sit top of the pile with a six-point lead over Belgian powerhouses Anderlecht. The league leaders will be well-known for their performances in the Europa League this season against Liverpool and are now overwhelming favourites to win their first-ever top-division title.
Belgian First Division title odds latest news: Can anyone stop Union SG?
Anderlecht
Anderlecht are by far and away the most successful and dominant team in Belgian football and across Europe. The Purple & Whites have not won a league title since the 2016/17 season and have been off the pace this campaign.
The writing was potentially on the walls from the very start of this season having lost to Union SG on the opening day. They still have to play the league leaders once more domestically this month and that will be a must-win to try and finish top.
While finishing first would be nice, it looks as though Anderlecht will be in the play-offs come the end of the season anyway. The last team to finish top during the regular season and go on to win the title was Club Brugge back in 2021, so finishing above everyone else means very little in Belgium.
Player to watch – Anders Dreyer
Anderlecht are going to be underdogs this season and against Union Saint-Gilloise when they face off next month, but if Anders Dreyer could help them flip the script. Dreyer has made a huge step up from a rather disappointing first season with the Belgian giants with nine more goals than he managed in the whole of last season, and just one assist shy of matching his total from last campaign.
If Anderlecht want a chance to increase the pressure on Union SG, then they will need their star of the season, Dreyer, to step up when it matters, something he didn't do in the first game of the campaign.
Gent
On paper, Gent are a very formidable force this season losing just two games and have taken points off of the other three teams inside the top four. However, they are simply drawing too many games.
Eight draws in the league are very worrying and show a lack of cutting edge to put teams to bed, something Union SG have done very well this term. They won their only league title in the 2014/15 season, and have been in and around title races ever since then.
Player to watch – Hugo Cuypers
Hugo Cuypers is indeed Gent's top scorer this season with 17 strikes across all competitions, but he also does like coming up against Union SG. He's faced the table-toppers six times during his career and has registered three goal involvements in these clashes, so will be keen to launch Gent above them this campaign.
Genk
The final side who could prove to be a challenger come the end of the season for Union SG is Genk. They last won the league in 2019 and have finished as runners-up in three of the past four seasons.
Genk have been trying to disrupt the top of the table all season handing out Union SG just one of their two defeats in the league this campaign. Their last result was a 3-0 victory against last season's league champions, Royal Antwerp, however, they still find themselves some 14 points off Union SG.
Genk must rely on other results if they wish to move up the table as they only have two of the top five left to play in the regular season. Although, like every season, nothing matters until the play-offs.
Player to watch – Tolu Arokodare
Genk's main threat this season has been Joseph Painstill, but he's away representing Ghana at AFCON 2023. So, it's time for Tolu Arokodare to step up
The Nigerian missed out on a spot in Nigeria's AFCON squad – much to the relief of Genk – and he could use that as motivation to prove why he should be there and he can do that by firing Genk to an unlikely league title.
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