OH Leuven welcome Charleroi on Friday evening to kick start the Belgian Pro League play-offs. The two sides will begin play-off two level on points with 19, just one behind the leaders Standard Liege. This is set to be the tightest play-off two race in years, with the winner playing a side in play-off one for the final European ticket. This will either be the side that finish fourth or fifth, depending on the outcome of the domestic cup final between Anderlecht and Club Brugge.
OHL have gotten the better of Rik De Mil’s Zebras on both occasions during the regular season. They won 2-0 in Charleroi back in October, with goals from Chukwubuikem Ikwuemesi. They then won 1-0 at home thanks to a Konan N’Dri goal. Charleroi will hope they can finally score against this OHL defence on Friday evening. Remarkably, Ikwuemesi has only scored two goals outside of that Charleroi game this season and is the sides top scorer on four. OHL will need to find their scoring boots if they are to seriously challenge for the top of the play-offs.
Charleroi ended the regular season in poor form, losing three of their last five and only winning once. In Daan Heymans they at least have a goal scorer, while Nikola Stulic has also stepped up. Heymans (11) and Stulic (9) will be crucial for them during the play-offs. It has been a long time since Charleroi last qualified for European football and the fans will be expecting them to challenge at the top of the mini group.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
