Anderlecht face tough Europa League clash with Jose Mourinho’s red hot Fenerbahçe | OneFootball

Anderlecht face a tough trip to Istanbul to face Fenerbahçe on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League knock-out fixture. Jose Mourinho’s side are one of the most inform teams in European football at the moment, something that the Belgian’s are not.

Fenerbahçe come into the clash with Anderlecht off the back of three wins. However, their good form goes far beyond the last three fixtures. The side have not lost since the middle of December, when they were beaten in this competition by Athleltic Club 2-0 at home. Since then, Mourinho and his men have gone 12 games unbeaten. However, in Europe they have only played twice in that time, with both games being draws. They drew 0-0 with Lyon before a 2-2 draw away to Danish side FC Midtjylland. This point saw Fenerbahçe finish in 24th place in the league phase, the final qualifying spot for the knock-out rounds.

Anderlecht come into the game with just two wins from their last five. Losing their final two games of the competition saw their early promise fall away as they went from a top eight finish to finishing 10th, just one point outside of the best finishing spots. The side will be happy to have striker Kasper Dolberg back firing in time for the first leg. The striker grabbed a brace against Antwerp at the weekend. This gives the former Ajax and Nice man 20 goals in 33 games this season.

If Anderlecht can rediscover their early Europa League form they may well have a chance to overcome the side from Istanbul. Ensuring they remain in the tie come the return leg in Brussels should be the bare minimum for the side on Thursday evening.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson