Overview
Defeats in the last two matches against Viktoria Plzen and Hoffenheim caused Anderlecht to drop their direct ticket to the round of 16 of the Europa League this season.
Two Europa League play-offs are certainly not something Anderlecht would want, especially when their opponents are Fenerbahce, a team that is not easy to beat.
Anderlecht have almost no chance of competing for the domestic championship when they are 15 points behind the leader Genk. Therefore, their goal is to qualify for the European Cup next season.
The huge pressure of having to play away in Türkiye will bring difficulties for Anderlecht. Fenerbahce may not perform well in the League Phase with only 10 points after 8 matches and ranked 24th.
However, coach Jose Mourinho's team is on a 12-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. Their most recent defeat was against Athletic Bilbao on December 11, 2024.
However, Fenerbahce have lost four of their last six European first-leg matches. Mourinho will certainly want to use his experience to turn things around, thereby giving Fenerbahce an advantage ahead of the return leg.
Head-to-head history does not favor Anderlecht, as they lost 2 and drew 1 in their last 3 trips to Fenerbahce's field. Notably, Anderlecht failed to score in all 3 of those matches.
Even if counting all 5 meetings in history, Anderlecht has never won against the Turkish team. This is an important basis to believe that Fenerbahce will win against Anderlecht.
Human resources situation
Anderlecht pair Jan Vertonghen and Majeed Ashimeru will be sidelined for this match as they are still nursing injuries. Moussa N'Diaye is suspended for the domestic league but could still feature in the Europa League.
On the other side of the front line, Anderlech's Diego Carlos, Alexander Dijku, Lincoln, Rodrigo Becao and Jayden Oosterwolde are all not fit enough to play.
Expected lineup:
Fenerbahce: Egribayat, Skriniar, Soyuncu, Mercan, Aydin, Fred, Szymanski, Kostic, Tadic, Talisca, Dzeko.
Anderlecht: Coosemans, Sardella, Adryelson, Hey, Augustinsson, Dendoncker, Hazard, Stroeykens, Verschaeren, Huerta, Dolberg.
The match between Fenerbahce and Anderlecht takes place at 0:45 am on February 14 (Vietnam time).
