Europa League | League Stage

Oct 24, 2024 at 8pm UK

Lotto Park

Anderlecht vs Ludogorets

Match preview

Anderlecht got off to a flying start in the 1983 UEFA Cup, beating Ferencvaros on home turf in the opening match before that impressive win in San Sebastian.

That puts Anderlecht in the top five teams who have taken six points from the first two matchdays in the Europa League. They're the favourites to claim another here.

If David Hubert's side gets the three points, it'll be the first time since 2011 that the club's started a European campaign with three straight wins. Back then, they won all six group games in this competition.

However, Anderlecht suffered their second defeat of the season at the weekend, losing 1-0 to Beerschot.

Given the quality of the opposition, it was a hugely disappointing result. Beerschot had failed to win any of their first 10 games of the season and were six points adrift at the bottom before the weekend's action.

It's a disappointing result, given that Anderlecht had gone into the international break four games unbeaten thanks to their two European victories and a 3-0 success over Standard Liège.

The home crowd will be hoping to see their team do as well as they did in the Conference League preliminary playoff round in 2023, when they beat Ludogorets 2-1. That result forced a penalty shootout, which Anderlecht went on to win.

The loss at the Lotto Arena means Ludogorets have now lost three of their last four games against Belgian opponents. Igor Jovicevic will be hoping his players can carry their excellent domestic form over into this competition.

Ludogorets have been on a winning streak in Bulgaria this season. The 13-time champions are on track to defend their title, with 31 points from a possible 33 so far.

They beat Septemvri Sofia 2-0 at the weekend, which was another easy win. They've now gone almost six and a half hours without conceding a goal, and that solid rearguard is what earned them their first point in this competition, as they drew 0-0 away to Viktoria Plzeň on matchday two.

However, Ludogorets are currently the weakest team in the competition, having scored the fewest goals and having the fewest shots on target of any team – just three.

They didn't concede a goal in Plzen last time out, which was their first clean sheet in 13 games on the continent. Unsurprisingly, they've lost nine times in that time.

Recent Performance

Anderlecht Europa League form:WWWW

Anderlecht form (all competitions):DWDWWL

Ludogorets Razgrad Europa League form:WWLD

Ludogorets Razgrad form (all competitions):WLWDWW

Team News

Veteran defender Jan Vertonghen will be out for Anderlecht as he continues to recover from the Achilles injury he sustained at the start of August. Thorgan Hazard is also out for a while due to an ACL tear.

Jan-Carlo Simic is set to return to the side from the one that lost at Beerschot over the weekend, as he was serving a domestic suspension.

Leander Dendocker used the international break to get over his illness and also made a comeback at the weekend, while Marco Kana and Francis Amuzu are both back in contention following their recent injuries.

Anton Nedyalkov is the only player definitely out for Ludogorets, as he's currently recovering from a knee injury. There's also some doubt over Jakub Piotrowski's fitness, as he was sent home early from the recent Poland camp and missed the weekend win.

Apart from Piotrkowski's possible absence though, Jovicevic went with a very strong line-up against Septemvri, playing all the other 10 players who also featured in the draw with Plzen on matchday two.

Possible starting lineups

Anderlecht possible starting lineup:

Coosemans; Foket, Zanka, Simic, N'Diaye; Degreef, Dendoncker, Rits, Vershaeren, Stroeykens; Vazquez

Ludogorets Razgrad possible starting lineup:

Bonmann; Witry, Dinis Almeida, Verdon, Son; Chochev, Pedro Naressi, Camara; Caio Vidal, Rwan Seco, Rick