Kortrijk v KV Mechelen Preview | Can the away side keep up their assault on the top six?

KV Mechelen travel to Kortrijk on Friday night for the first match of match week 16 in the Belgian Pro League. The sides have already played each other once this season, with Mechelen winning 3-0 at home. They will hope to inflict another defeat on a struggling Kortrijk side.

The home side currently sit 15th in the table, seven points ahead of bottom side Beerschot and three points adrift of safety. In their seven home games this season they have won three, drawn one and lost one. Scoring goals has been a huge problem at home and away. The side have only scored six goals at home, with only 10 goals scored overall. Only Nacho Ferri has scored more than one goal this season, yet two of his three came in one game. At the other end they have shipped 29, the third worst defensive record in the league.

Mechelen have been quite the opposite under Besnik Hasi. The side are sitting pretty in fifth place with seven wins, three draws and five defeats in their 15 games. The side are a great watch, averaging just over two goals per game with 31 scored. Summer signing Benito Raman has begun to show his class, with three goals in his last four matches and four games overall. He is level on goals with Patrick Pflucke and Nikola Storm. Pflucke has also grabbed four assists, while Storm is level with Daam Foulon on three assists.

Despite their great season so far, Mechelen have been better at home than away. They have only scored nine goals of their 31 goals away from home. Yet given their opponents have conceded 10 goals in three games, they will certainly be confident of creating chances on Friday evening.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson

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