Fenerbahce v Anderlecht

Fenerbahce vs Anderlecht Preview

The Europa League play-off stage starts this week as well and Turkish hosts, Fenerbahce, will be going in search of a fourth win in all competitions on Thursday night when they play host to Belgian side Anderlecht at the Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe, while also looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 13 games overall.

Anderlecht have produced a bit of a mixed bag of results overall in recent times as the Belgian visitors have managed to capture just two wins within their last six matches in all competitions although the visitors registered a 2-0 home win against Antwerp in the Belgian First Division A over the weekend.

Fenerbahce have put together an impressive and solid looking 12-match unbeaten sequence in all competitions which include collecting no fewer than nine wins in the process along with being involved in three draws, but Jose Mourinho's side will not be resting on their laurels as the hosts search to gain a 1st leg lead here.

Five of Fenerbahce's recent nine wins have been achieved on home soil at their Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe with four wins in the Turkish domestic top flight and a Turkish Cup win; league victories gained over the likes of Istanbul Basaksehir, Hatayspor, Goztepe and Rizespor respectively should give the hosts plenty of cause for optimism ahead of this 1st leg tie.

Anderlecht have managed to collect just two wins from their last six matches overall which came in the shape of victories gained over Mechelen and Antwerp in 4-1 and 2-0 wins respectively in the Belgian top flight, but both of which were also achieved on home soil at their Lotto Park.

However, three defeats within these previous six matches have also seen Anderlecht slip to disappointing losses at the hands of Viktoria Plzen and Hoffenheim, both of which were in the Europa League, along with a 1-0 loss away from home at Gent in the domestic top flight.

The bigger picture shows Anderlecht have registered five wins, one draw but also being handed six defeats within this period as well, so this upcoming trip to Turkey on Thursday night to take on an in-form and solid looking Fenerbahce outfit looks like being a tall order for David Hubert's side in this opening leg.

In addition, Anderlecht have managed to collect just three wins within their previous nine outings on the road in the Europa League along with being dealt four defeats in the process.

Fenerbahce v Anderlecht Verdict

Fenerbahce and Anderlecht have met on just four previous occasions and it has been the Turkish club who have come out on top as Fenerbahce have won three of these four encounters and the hosts look the more likely here as well.

Therefore, our main bet will be Fenerbahce win @ 1.50

Other side bets worth considering:

Fenerbahce win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.20

Correct Score: Fenerbahce 2-1 @ 8.50