2017–18 Belgian First Division B


The 2017–18 season of the Belgian First Division B began in August 2017 and ended in April 2018. It was the second season of the First Division B following a change in league format from the old Belgian Second Division. The fixtures were announced near the end of June 2017. Cercle Brugge won the title and promotion on 10 March 2018. Although Tubize lost the relegation play-offs and therefore would have been relegated, they were saved as Lierse went bankrupt.

Team changes

In

Stadiums and locations

MatriculeClubCityFirst season of
current spell at
second level		Coming from2016-17 resultStadiumCapacity
155Antwerp2017–18Belgian First Amateur Division1st Olympic Stadium12,771
12Bruges2015–16Belgian Pro League7th Jan Breydel Stadium29,945
6142Leuven2016–17Belgian Pro League6th Den Dreef10,000
30Lier2015–16Belgian Pro League1st Herman Vanderpoortenstadion14,538
2024Westerlo2017–18Belgian First Division A16th Het Kuipje8,035
134Roeselare2010–11Belgian Pro League2nd Schiervelde Stadion9,075
5632Tubize2009–10Belgian Pro League5th Stade Leburton9,000
10Saint-Gilles, Brussels2015–16Belgian Third Division4th King Baudouin Stadium50,122

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

League table

Opening tournament

Closing tournament

Aggregate table

;Notes

Promotion play-offs

The winners of the opening tournament and the closing tournament met in a two-legged match to determine the division champion, who promoted to the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A. The team finishing highest in the aggregate table was allowed to play the second leg at home. In case one team had won both the opening and the closing tournament, these matches would not have been played and that team would have been promoted automatically.
On 5 November 2017, Beerschot Wilrijk won the opening tournament and was therefore assured of playing at least the promotion play-offs. The closing tournament was won by Cercle Brugge on 17 February 2018, who played Beerschot Wilrijk for the title and promotion.
The first leg was a closed match with few chances, until Cercle Brugge goalkeeper Paul Nardi made an error in controlling the ball, allowing Euloge Placca Fessou one of the easiest goals of his career. Shortly after, Beerschot Wilrijk saw midfielder Alexander Maes sent off following a harsh tackle, resulting them in controlling the game without creating more chances. In the return match, Cercle Brugge scored twice early and looked on its way to promotion, only for Beerschot Wilrijk to come back to 2–1 just minutes before the end and gaining the advantage on away goals. In a dramatic finish, Cercle Brugge was awarded a last minute penalty kick, converted by Irvin Cardona to bring them back to the highest division where they last played during the 2014–15 season.
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Cercle Brugge won 3–2 on aggregate.

Relegation play-offs

The four bottom teams in the aggregate table will take part in the relegation play-offs in which they keep half of the points they collected during the overall regular season. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Roeselare 18 points, Union SG 16, Westerlo 14 and Tubize 12 points. The points of Roeselare, Westerlo and Tubize were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, their half point would be deducted. The team finishing in last position will relegate to the 2018–19 Belgian First Amateur Division.
Following a 0-1 loss at home to Union SG on 14 April 2018, Tubize was mathematically relegated as the deficit to Union SG became six points with only two matches to go, while Union SG would always be ranked above Tubize in case of ties as the points of Tubize were rounded up prior to the relegation play-offs. Tubize was however spared of relegation from the Belgian First Division B as Lierse did not obtain a Belgian professional football license after going bankrupt.

Season statistics

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Yannick AguemonOH Leuven10
1 Esteban CasagoldaOH Leuven10
1 Florent StevanceTubize10
4 Xavier MercierCercle Brugge9
4 Hernán LosadaBeerschot Wilrijk9
4 Ivan YaganLierse9
7 Euloge Placca FessouBeerschot Wilrijk8
8 Jens NaessensWesterlo7
8 Dylan De BelderCercle Brugge7
10 Irvin CardonaCercle Brugge6
10 Mohamed MessoudiBeerschot Wilrijk6
10 Nikola StormOH Leuven6
10 Guévin TorminCercle Brugge6
10 Julien VercauterenUnion SG6

;5 goals
;4 goals
;3 goals
;2 goals
;1 goal
;1 own goal