Anderlecht vs Young Boys Match Analysis and Prediction

4 years ago 587

With everthing still in the balance following a tight first leg, Anderlecht and Young Boys will finish their battle for a spot in the group stage of the Europa Conference League in Belgium on Thursday.

Thursday’s hosts picked up a narrow 1-0 victory in Switzerland last week and will be looking to defend their lead on their return to Lotto Park.

Following a third-placed finish in their domestic top-flight and a penalty shootout defeat to Gent in the Belgium Cup final under the management of Vincent Kompany, Anderlecht entered Conference League qualifying in the third round.

With Felice Mazzu now in charge after Kompany’s summer departure, their continental campaign began with a clash against Paide, and they quickly took control in the away leg, finishing with a 2-0 lead at the halfway stage of the tie.

They would then see out a dominant aggregate win with a 3-0 victory over the Estonian outfit in Belgium, booking their playoff tie with Young Boys.

Following a 3-0 victory over Sint-Truiden in their domestic top flight, Anderlecht travelled to Bern for the first leg last week, and they now head into their home leg with a narrow lead.

Young Boys began their qualifying campaign against Liepaja in the second round, and after a 4-0 aggregate win, they would meet KuPS and take a 2-0 lead into the home leg.

They would then cruise into the playoff round through a 3-0 home win, and the Bern outfit built further momentum with a league win over Servette heading into the first leg of their tie with Anderlecht.

Having fallen just short in that game, Raphael Wicky’s side make the trip to Belgium keen to overturn the tie and progress into the Europa Conference League after their early exit from the Champions League group stage last time aound.

Anderlecht vs Young Boys head to head

The two teams have previously met on just one occasion in the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualifying playoff-round tie, where Anderlecht claimed a 1-0 away victory.

Young Boys 0-1 Anderlecht 18/08/22

Anderlecht latest home form

Anderlecht have recently been on a good run of form at home, having won each of their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Paide 3-0 in their last home game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded four.

Anderlecht 2-3 Lyon 16/07/22

Anderlecht 3-0 Lyon 16/07/22

Anderlecht 2-0 KV Oostende 24/07/22

Anderlecht 3-1 RFC Seraing 07/08/22

Anderlecht 3-0 Paide 11/08/22

Anderlecht latest away form

Anderlecht have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their eight most recent matches. They defeated Young Boys 1-0 in their last away game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded two.

Wolvertem Merchtem 1-2 Anderlecht 17/07/22

Cercle Brugge 1-0 Anderlecht 30/07/22

Paide 0-2 Anderlecht 04/08/22

Sint-Truiden 0-3 Anderlecht 14/08/22

Young Boys 0-1 Anderlecht 18/08/22

Young Boys latest home form

Young Boys lost 1-0 to Anderlecht in their last home game in the Europa Conference League. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their previous 13 matches. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded just two.

Young Boys 3-0 Leipaja 28/07/22

Young Boys 1-1 Grasshopper 31/07/22

Young Boys 3-0 KuPS 11/08/22

Young Boys 3-0 Servette 14/08/22

Young Boys 0-1 Anderlecht 18/08/22

Young Boys latest away form

Young Boys have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They defeated Schoenberg 10-1 in their last away game in the Schweizer Pokal. In their last five matches, they have scored 15 goals and conceded just three.

Sion 0-3 Young Boys 24/07/22

Thisted 2-0 Young Boys 30/07/22

KuPS 0-2 Young Boys 04/08/22

Basel 0-0 Young Boys 07/08/22

Schoenberg 1-10 Young Boys 21/08/22

Anderlecht news

Anderlecht will have to make do without key midfielder Lior Refaelov, after the 36-year-old missed last week’s first leg due to injury.

Fabio Silva will continue to lead the line, while Sebastiano Esposito will also be vying for a starting role after making an appearance off the bench in Switzerland.

Young Boys news

Young Boys should call Jean-Pierre Nsame back into their starting XI on Thursday, after he was reduced to a substitute appearance in the first leg.

With doubts over Meschak Elia’s fitness, Nsame will likely join former Rangers attacker Cedric Itten with additional support from midfielders like Vincent Sierro and Fabian Rieder.

Prediction and Odds

Felice Mazzu’s side did well to succeed on away territory something that would have provided them with a lot of confidence.

Now with the advantage of playing the second leg at Lotto Park, we see Anderlecht having slightly too much for their visitors and coming away with another win on Thursday.

Odds: 1 2.10 X 2.03 2 2.26