Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Europa League clash between Anderlecht and Fenerbahce, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Boasting a three-goal first-leg advantage, Turkish giants Fenerbahce travel to Lotto Park in Brussels to face Belgian outfit Anderlecht in the second leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday night.
The winners of this tie on aggregate will face either Rangers or reigning Conference League champions Olympiacos in the last 16.
Match preview
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After finishing 10th in the 36-team Europa League table and narrowly missing out on an automatic last-16 spot by goal difference, Anderlecht are now clinging on to their European hopes by the thinnest of threads as they suffered a 3-0 away defeat to Fenerbahce in the first leg of their playoff tie last week.
Experienced duo Dusan Tadic and Edin Dzeko both scored in the first half to put Fenerbahce in control, before Youssef En-Nesyri added a third midway through the second half to put one foot into the last 16 and condemn Anderlecht to their third away defeat in four matches across all competitions.
Les Mauves et Blancs have since bounced back from that defeat in Turkey and have cemented their place in the top six of the Belgian Pro League after edging past Charleroi by a 1-0 scoreline last weekend, courtesy of a second-half strike from substitute Luis Vazquez.
Anderlecht are now vying to pull off one of the greatest Europa League comebacks, as 135 of the last 136 teams to lose a first leg by at least three goals have suffered elimination on aggregate. The Belgian giants can take some inspiration from the 2013-14 Valencia side that overturned a 3-0 first-leg loss to beat Basel 5-3 on aggregate.
David Hubert‘s side are also hoping to avoid losing a fourth straight Europa League game for the first time in the competition, having lost each of their last three fixtures by an aggregate score of 9-3.
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December 11 last year was the last time Fenerbahce tasted defeat in any competition and Jose Mourinho‘s in-form side are currently boating a 14-game unbeaten run, including five consecutive victories.
Three days after netting three goals past Anderlecht in the Europa League, the Yellow Canaries secured a 3-1 home win over Kasimpasa in the Turkish Super Liga last Sunday; they remain second in the table and six points behind leaders Galatasaray, whom they will lock horns with next Monday.
Fenerbahce, who scraped through to the Europa League playoffs after finishing 24th in the League Phase despite failing to win their last three games, are now in the driving seat to seal a place in the last 16 for the second time in three seasons and for just the fourth time in the last 13 years.
Mourinho’s men will be aiming to win both legs of a knockout tie in major European competition for the first time since 2006-07, and they will fancy their chances of doing so on Thursday as they have won four and drawn one of their last five meetings with Anderlecht.
Anderlecht Europa League form:
Anderlecht form (all competitions):
Fenerbahce Europa League form:
Fenerbahce form (all competitions):
Team News
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Anderlecht striker Kasper Dolberg was forced off with a knee injury in the first half of last weekend’s win at Charleroi and has joined Yari Verschaeren (groin) and Mario Stroeykens (ankle) in the treatment room.
Luis Vazquez has scored two of his five goals this season in the Europa League and is expected to replace Dolberg up front, with support set to be provided in attack by Anders Dreyer, Cesar Huerta and either Thorgan Hazard or Tristan Degreef.
Jan Vertonghen recovered from an ankle injury to watch on as an unused substitute last weekend and he could be in contention to feature in defence, although Jan-Carlo Simic and either Lucas Hey or Adryelson are expected to get the nod at centre-back.
As for Fenerbahce, Jayden Oosterwolde and Rodrigo Becao have both suffered season-ending knee injuries, while Dominik Livakovic (thigh), Diego Carlos (unspecified), Caglar Soyuncu and Alexander Djiku (both muscle) are also sidelined.
Sofyan Amrabat has recently been tasked with operating at centre-back and he is set to remain at the heart of the defence alongside new signing Milan Skriniar and either Levent Mercan or Yusuf Akcicek.
Dzeko has scored in each of his last three Europa League starts and only once before has he netted in more consecutive starts in the competition (five for Roma in 2017-18). The 38-year-old is set to start up front alongside En-Nesyri, who has scored a team-high 23 goals in all competitions this term.
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Coosemans; Sardella, Simic, Adryelson, Augustinsson; Leoni, Dendoncker; Dreyer, Huerta, Degreef; Vazquez
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Egribayrat; Skriniar, Amrabat, Akcicek; Osayi-Samuel, Fred, Szymanski, Kostic; Tadic; En-Neysri, Dzeko
We say: Anderlecht 1-3 Fenerbahce (Fenerbahce to win 6-1 on aggregate)
Anderlecht will hope that Fenerbahce will take their foot of the gas and they will endeavour to burst out of the blocks in front of their own fans in an attempt to reduce the deficit on aggregate.
However, we feel that Mourinho’s men will ultimately have too much for the hosts once again and we can see the Turkish giants extending their impressive unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 matches.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
