Cercle Brugge have dismissed head coach Lars Friis after a poor start to the season, with just six points from their first 10 matches. The decision came despite last weekend's 2-1 win over Antwerp.
Pedro Caixinha replaces him, having signed a contract until June 2027 with an option for an extra season. He is due to be officially presented later this week.
Cercle Brugge's next match is away at RAAL La Louvière in the Belgian Pro League.
RAAL La Louvière vs Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League, played on 11/07/2026, ended 0 - 1. Belgian Pro League matchday 11. In the league table, RAAL La Louvière were in position 16 and Cercle Brugge in position 17.
Half-time score: 0-1. Goalscorers: Steve Ngoura 6'. Cards: 3 yellow, 0 red. Corners: RAAL La Louvière 6, Cercle Brugge 2. Top Soloscore rating of the match: Steve Ngoura (8.1). Managers: RAAL La Louvière – Edward Still, Cercle Brugge – Pedro Caixinha.
RAAL La Louvière starting XI (5-3-2): Marius Courcoul, Mustapha Isah Ubandoma, Thierry Lutonda, Wagane Faye, Léandro Rousseau, Anas Tajaouart, Nolan Gillot, Siad Gourville, Mame Ndiaga Wade, Djibril Lamego, Marcos Peano. Cercle Brugge starting XI (3-4-2-1): Luke Le Roux, Gaëtan Coucke, Royer Caicedo, Hannes Van Der Bruggen, Viggo Martens, Geoffrey Kondo, Gary Magnee, Steve Ngoura, Valy Konaté, Babatunde Jimoh Akinsola, Ibrahim Diakite. Injured or suspended for RAAL La Louvière: Mouhamed Belkheir, Joël Ito. Injured or suspended for Cercle Brugge: Yago Lincoln Rocha Santos, Joel Ndala, Charles Herrmann, Erick Nunes, Omotayo Adaramola, Abdoulie Manneh, Lazare Amani.
In their last 8 meetings, RAAL La Louvière won 4, Cercle Brugge won 2 and 2 ended level. Their previous meeting, on 05/09/2026, ended RAAL La Louvière 4-1 Cercle Brugge. RAAL La Louvière won 8, drew 7 and lost 15 of their last 30 matches. Cercle Brugge won 8, drew 8 and lost 14 of their last 30 matches. Next match for RAAL La Louvière: Racing Genk vs RAAL La Louvière (11/21/2026). Next match for Cercle Brugge: Cercle Brugge vs KVC Westerlo (11/20/2026).
Venue: Stade Communal Du Tivoli. Referee: Wim Smet.
Any event, line-up, statistics and player rating data Soloscore has for this match is in the tabs, and you can share your views in the match chat. Past meetings between the two teams are in the H2H tab and their league positions in the Standings tab.
The match was played on 11/07/2026, with kick-off at 19:45 (UTC).
The match ended 0 - 1.
Referee: Wim Smet.
Venue: Stade Communal Du Tivoli.
Injured or suspended for RAAL La Louvière: Mouhamed Belkheir, Joël Ito. Injured or suspended for Cercle Brugge: Yago Lincoln Rocha Santos, Joel Ndala, Charles Herrmann, Erick Nunes, Omotayo Adaramola, Abdoulie Manneh, Lazare Amani.
