FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge Predictions, Lineups and Betting Tips Predictions

FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge Predictions, Lineups and Betting Tips

Match Details: July 26th, 2025 | DENDER Football Complex, Denderleeuw | Belgium First Division A

The Belgian First division kicks off this weekend, and last year's lucky survivors Cercle Brugge will want to make a quicker start to the new campaign to avoid another relegation battle. They travel to Dender, who themselves managed a solid mid-table finish in the debut season in the top flight.

Though they managed to qualify for the end of season Conference League play-off, while Cercle Brugge were stuck in the relegation play-off group, Dender are still yet to beat them in their history, meaning this opening day of the season has pride and head to head records on the line.

Key Betting Tip: Cercle Brugge to Win at odds of 2.32 on Highbet represent excellent value for the tip provided by our in-house tipsters.

FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge Predicted Lineups

FCV Dender EH Predicted XI (3-4-3): Guillaume Dietsch (GK); Gilles Ruyssen, Bryan Goncalves, David Hrncar; Fabio Ferraro, Nathan Rodes, Krzysztof Koton, Malcolm Viltard; Mohamed Berte, Roman Kvet, Aurelien Scheidler.

Though Dender have brought in Luc Marijnissen, Nail Moutha-Sebtaoui and Krzysztof Koton during the summer transfer window, they have seen a further seven players leave, and their squad is now looking rather bare.

They showed last season that they have the ability to become an established top flight side, but they now need to invest in their future. If they can’t bring enough quality players in this summer, their hopes of maintaining their top division status could start to fade.

Cercle Brugge Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Warleson (GK); Adgaras Utkus, Christiaan Ravych, Lucas Perrin; Flavio Nazinho, Hannes van der Bruggen, Lawrence Agyekum, Gary Magnee; Paris Brunner, Thobi Somers; Felipe Augusto.

Cercle Brugge have been busy in the summer transfer window, and have so far lured six players to the club, including Monaco talent Edan Diop and PSG youngster Ibrahima Diaby.

While three permanent signings have arrived, a further three loan deals have also been sealed, and with these strengthening positions all over the pitch, Cercle Brugge clearly have their sights set high for the season. They must of course set the tempo in their first game of the season, but their squad is looking much more filled out compared to last season.

FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge Current League Standings

With season kicking off on Friday with Royal Antwerp hosting Union St. Gilloise, no side has played a game yet, and so they all currently sit on zero points.

FCV Dender vs Cercle Brugge Head to Head Timeline

Meeting for the first time in their histories just last season, there have only been two meetings between FCV Dender and Cercle Brugge.

Recent Head to Head Meetings:

• Jan 2025: FCV Dender 0-1 Cercle Brugge.
• Oct 2024: Cercle Brugge 0-0 FCV Dender.

With Dender yet to win a game in the clubs head to head meetings, the home side will want to end that streak as soon as possible here.

FCV Dender EH and Cercle Brugge Recent Match Analysis

FCV Dender EH Last Five Games:

• Heracles 2-1 FCV Dender (Club Friendly)
• FCV Dender 2-2 KV Mechelen (First Division)
• Standard Liege 0-0 FCV Dender (First Division)
• FCV Dender 5-0 OH Leuven (First Division)
• Westerlo 4-2 FCV Dender (First Division)

Dender had a very strong finish to last season - in their last eight games, they suffered just two defeats, with the four draws and two wins enough to secure them a solid mid-table finish.

However, with little investment in the squad over the summer, they are expected to struggle should they fail to bring in any more signings. With plenty of time still left in the transfer window, they still have ample opportunity to do so, but they will likely not be able to confirm any new signings before this fixture, meaning they will have a weakened team when they face Brugge.

Cercle Brugge Last Five Games:

• OGC Nice 2-1 Cercle Brugge (Club Friendly)
• Cercle Brugge 3-1 Patro Eisden (First Division Relegation Play-off)
• Patro Eisden 1-5 Cercle Brugge (First Division Relegation Play-off)
• Beerschot 4-2 Cercle Brugge (First Division)
• Cercle Brugge 0-2 Kortrijk (First Division)

Winning just one of their last four games in the First Division relegation group, Cercle Brugge were forced into a play-off against Second Division promotion hopefuls Patro Eisden, and while they dominated the two-legged tie, they would appreciate not being in that position come the end of the new season.

Simply too leaky in defence, they conceded 11 times in their last five league games of last season - as soon as you are conceding more than two goals per game, survival becomes very tricky. They may have got away with it on that occasion, but they will want to make a fast start to the new season, building a solid foundation for the campaign.

FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge Prediction

Our advanced algorithm has analyzed over 200 data points to predict that Cercle Brugge will get their season off to a winning start. The two sides are closely match, and it will end as a narrow 2-1 victory, but Bruggle won't mind - all they will care about are the three points. The model factors in current form, head to head records, player availability and tactical matchups.

FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge Betting Tip

Football Park’s Best Bet: Cercle Brugge to Win - with some excellent recruitment over the summer, Cercle Brugge have built a solid platform on which to build a much improved campaign - they will be desperately be wanting to avoid the disappointment the forced upon their fans last campaign.

Players to Watch: FCV Dender EH vs Cercle Brugge

David Hrncar (FC Dender EH): Capable of playing both right back and right wing, Hrncar’s versatility was a huge asset to what was a superb debut season in the top flight for Dender. Chipping in with four goals and six assists, he was an absolute menace down the right hand side, and should he keep performing at this level, bigger clubs will begin to take notice.

Hannes van der Bruggen (Cercle Brugge): The metronome at the heart of the Brugge midfielder, van der Bruggen will be vital if Cercle Brugge are to improve on last season’s performances. While he is not the most creative player, notching two goals and two assists last season, he sets the tempo for the rest of the team, and his excellent passing opens up space for his more dangerous teammates.

Stadium Details: Built in 1997, Dender’s home ground, the DENDER Football Complex, can host upwards of 6 ‘400 fans, and with stands right at pitch side, the ground creates an electric atmosphere whenever a game is being played.