Belgium giants Anderlecht and Hungarian champions Ferencvaros begin their 2024-25 Europa League campaigns with a meeting at Lotto Park in Brussels on Wednesday night.
The two teams meet for the first time since 1985 when Ferencvaros claimed a 2-1 aggregate win in the qualifying round of the Champions League.
Match preview
After a year away from European competition, Anderlecht are now competing in the Europa League for the first time since 2018-19 courtesy of 2-0 aggregate victory over Dinamo Minsk in the playoff round last month.
Since beating the Belarusian outfit, the Mauves have failed to come out on top in any of their last four Belgian Pro League matches, and a 2-0 home defeat to Genk ultimately proved to be the final nail in the coffin for head coach Brian Riemer, who was sacked last Thursday after nearly two years at the helm due to 'insufficient' team performances.
Thirty-six-year-old David Hubert has since been placed in caretaker charge, stepping up from his role as Under-18s boss, and was in the dugout for the senior team's goalless stalemate with Charleroi on Saturday.
After finishing third in the Belgian Pro League Champions' playoffs last season, Anderlecht now find themselves sitting sixth in the current top-flight standings with 13 points from eight matches, but they are only three points behind league leaders Genk.
Hubert is tasked with turning Anderlecht's form around as they alternate between domestic and Europa League duties in their next four fixtures. The Mauves head into Wednesday's clash with Ferencvaros having failed to win any of their last eight Europa League matches, losing and drawing four games each.
Ferencvaros won their sixth consecutive Nemzeti Bajnoksag I title - and 35th in their history - last season, finishing a comfortable 16 points ahead of their nearest challengers, and they have since made a perfect start to the new campaign, winning each of their opening five Hungarian top-flight matches.
The Greens were forced to come from behind to claim maximum points against MTK Budapest last weekend, with goals from Barnabas Varga, Raul Gustavo and Matheus Saldanha securing a 3-1 away victory.
Pascal Jansen's side are sure to have one eye on this weekend's top-of-the-table showdown with Puskas Akademia, but they must first turn their attention to their third Europa League campaign in four seasons. They reached the knockout round playoff of the Europa Conference League last season, but lost 2-0 on aggregate to eventual champions Olympiacos.
Ferencvaros missed out on qualifying for the Champions League earlier this season, as they suffered a 3-1 aggregate defeat to FC Midtjylland in the third qualifying round, but they have secured their spot in the newly-expanded Europa League courtesy of a 3-2 penalty-shootout triumph over Bosnian outfit FK Borac Banja Luka in the playoff round, following a 1-1 draw over two legs.
The Greens will fancy their chances of success against Anderlecht on Wednesday, as they have never lost a major European match against a team from Belgium, winning two and drawing four; they have never faced teams from the same country more often while remaining unbeaten.
Team News
Anderlecht will be without Jan Vertonghen (Achilles), Anders Dreyer and Thorgan Hazard (both knee) through injury, while Ludwig Augustinsson is doubtful after missing the last match due to concussion protocols.
The potential absence of Augustinsson could see Moussa N'Diaye continue at left-back, joining Mathias Jorgensen, Jan-Carlo Simic and Killian Sardella in a four-man defence.
Aston Villa loanee Leander Dendoncker is poised to retain his place in centre-midfield next to Mats Rits, while Yari Verschaeren, Mario Stroeykens and Samuel Edozie could all provide support in attack for Kasper Dolberg, who has scored just one goal in nine games so far this term.
As for Ferencvaros, they appear to have a clean bill of health at present and are unlikely to make too many changes to the side that beat MTK Budapest last time out.
Raul Gustavo scored his first goal for the club last weekend since joining from Sao Paulo in the summer and he is expected to continue in the heart of the defence alongside Ibrahim Cisse.
Adama Traore is the top scorer for Ferencvaros so far this season with four goals and he is set to operate on the right flank, joining Tosin Kehinde, Kristoffer Zachariassen and Barnabas Varga in attack.
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Coosemans; Sardella, Simic, Jorgensen, N'Diaye; Dendoncker, Rits; Verschaeren, Stroeykens, Edozie; Dolberg
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Makreckis, Cisse, Gustavo, Ramirez; Habib Maiga, Rommens; Traore, Kehinde, Zachariassen; Varga
We say: Anderlecht 1-1 Ferencvaros
Ferencvaros are certainly the form side heading into Wednesday's fixture and will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions.
They also boast a strong record against Belgian opposition, but we feel that Anderlecht could frustrate their Hungarian counterparts and find a way to claim at least a share of the spoils from this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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