Kicking off their latest continental campaign in the Europa League playoffs, Anderlecht meet Dinamo Minsk on Thursday.
The teams convene in Hungary, as they play the first leg of a tie that will decide who makes the competition's new-look group phase; meanwhile, the loser must drop down to the Conference League.
Match preview
![Fedor Lapoukhov of Dinamo Minsk in action during UEFA Conference League First qualifying round, 1st leg match between FK Zeljeznicar and Dinamo Minsk at Grbavica Stadium on July 13, 2023. [on August 6, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/fedor-lapoukhov.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Fedor Lapoukhov of Dinamo Minsk in action during UEFA Conference League First qualifying round, 1st leg match between FK Zeljeznicar and Dinamo Minsk at Grbavica Stadium on July 13, 2023. [on August 6, 2024]")
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Despite losing the second leg 2-1 in Gibraltar, Dinamo Minsk came through their third qualifying round tie with Lincoln Red Imps last week, securing a 3-2 victory on aggregate.
The Belarusian side had previously slipped out of the Champions League preliminaries at the hands of Ludogorets, having edged past Armenia's FC Pyunik in the opening round.
Now, they aim to avoid dropping down another tier in UEFA's club competition structure, with only one tie separating them from an eight-match group stage in this season's Europa League.
Head coach Vadim Skripchenko, who has held the reins since November 2022, led his team to the title last year, and so far this season they remain undefeated domestically, winning 10 and drawing five league fixtures.
Having been allowed to concentrate on European competition, Dinamo now have two games in hand on first-placed Neman, with only a two-point deficit to make up - conceding just eight goals has certainly helped their cause.
The former Soviet Top League winners boast a proud history, and more recently they have been regulars in Europa League qualifying - though they last made the group phase back in 2015.
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Anderlecht lifted the UEFA Cup - predecessor to UEFA's current second-tier tournament - back in 1983, but the Belgian giants have been less successful of late and even missed out on Europe entirely last year.
Finishing third in the Pro League's championship round secured them a spot in this term's Europa League playoffs, so Thursday's game will mark their continental debut for 2024-25.
Les Mauve et Blanc should arrive in good spirits, having surged to the top of their domestic standings with a 3-1 away win over Mechelen last weekend.
Brian Riemer's men kicked off the campaign with back-to-back victories over Sint-Truiden and potential title rivals Antwerp, before being held by OH Leuven, and a total of 10 points sees them topping the early table.
Given such form, Anderlecht will hope they can fight their way through the playoffs and then replicate their most recent foray onto the European stage, when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2022-23 Conference League.
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Team News
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Anderlecht must cope with three major absences due to injury, as former Belgium Under-21 winger Francis Amuzu now joins experienced pair Thorgan Hazard and Jan Vertonghen on the sidelines.
The latter - a veteran of several European campaigns with Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur and Benfica - recently sustained an Achilles tendon injury, but Danish defender Mathias Jorgensen has since been brought in from Brentford and should join ex-AC Milan youngster Jan-Carlo Simic at the back.
Another Dane in Brian Riemer's squad, Kasper Dolberg leads the line up front, having averaged a goal every three games since signing from Nice last summer.
Meanwhile, Dinamo Minsk should name Trofim Melnichenko, Ivan Bakhar and new signing Steven Alfred in their forward line on Thursday.
Centre-back Aleksey Gavrilovich actually leads the way in European qualifying with two goals so far, and he is set to partner captain Sergey Politevich in central defence.
Dinamo Minsk possible starting lineup:
Lapoukhov; Kalinin, Politevich, Gavrilovich, Lopes; Sedko, Selyava, Demchenko; Melnichenko, Alfred, Bakhar
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Coosemans; Sardella, Simic, Jorgensen, Augustinsson; Leoni, Rits, Stroeykens; Dreyer, Dolberg, Verschaeren
We say: Dinamo Minsk 1-2 Anderlecht
Unable to host their home games in Belarus due to the war in Ukraine, Dinamo may suffer defeat in a first leg effectively held on neutral turf: Anderlecht have started impressively this season and should find the net more than once.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
