On the 26th of January 2022, a 57th minute goal from Youssef Maziz gave Seraing a crucial win against relegation rivals Beerschot. One year later and the home fans at the Stade du Pairay have not celebrated a league victory since. On the 22nd of January 2023, the side host Anderlecht, with failure to win bringing their winless home streak to a full calendar year. The sides home form in that time reads played 16, won 0, drawn 4 and lost 12.
For many, when it comes to relegation battles it is considered that home form is vital for keeping a team in the league. This isn’t the case for Seraing. If, for some arbitrary reason, home form was wiped from the standings, Seraing would be 9th in the league this year. They would be level on points with defending champions Club Brugge and just outside of a play-off two spot. They’ve also scored 15 goals in that time, with the highlight being a 2-0 victory over city rivals Standard Liege. Fans of the Liege based club are certainly getting more value for money following the team away, with four wins from 10 this season, one draw and five defeats.
At home, however, they have picked up just two points and scored only four times in 10 games, conceding 16. Remarkably, this is level with a few other teams in Europe’s top leagues. In La Liga, Elche are also winless at home, with just two points from 8 games. Unlike Seraing, their away form is also terrible, with no wins in 9. In Serie A, Sampdoria have also mustered just two points at home, picking up their two wins this season away from home.
It’s unlikely that head coach Jean-Sebastien Legros will want to dwell too much on the impending milestone, but he will be scratching his head trying to work out how he can get the side to play at home like they play away. At this point in time, there is certainly no such thing as homefield advantage for Seraing.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
