The Belgian Champions welcome second placed Arsenal in
match-day three after a 3-0 home defeat against Borussia Dortmund. The Purple
and Whites managed to grind out a respectable draw against Turkish side
Galatasaray away from home on the opening weekend and are still in search of
their first win of the group stages of the elite competition. Manager Besnik
Hasi’s side was held to back to back draws in the league against Genk and
Mechelen but still find themselves comfortable at the summit with 23 points from
11 games. Sitting bottom of Group D, Anderlecht
are in dire need of a win, to turn their fortunes around – with this game set
to be played at home, the Belgian side cannot settle for anything less than 3
points, if they are to progress to the knockout stages, against the odds.
Arsenal endured a frustrating draw at home to Hull City which meant
they are now a massive 11 points behind league leaders Chelsea as early as
game-week 8. With only 2 league wins so far, Arsenal will look to build on the
momentum they must have gained after the vintage 4-1 win at home against
Galatasaray, thanks to the timely hat-trick from new boy Danny Welbeck. After a
disappointing start to the tournament, a 2-0 defeat at the Signal Iduna Park,
Arsene Wenger’s side bounced back to the delight of the fans and will look to
take one further step in their pursuit to progress to the last 16 stages by
getting back to winning ways in Belgium.
Team News
Fabrice
N’Sakala suffered a knee ligament injury in
training on 3 September and is expected to be out until November at the
earliest. Defender Bram Nuytinck will need to be assessed after a toe
injury he sustained and looks to be doubtful to start, come Wednesday.
Arsene
Wenger though, has a host of injury problems to deal with ahead of this crunch
tie against Anderlecht. With as many as 5 players definitely ruled out for the
game in Mesut Ozil (Knee), Sanogo (Thigh), Debuchy (Ankle), Ospina (Hip) and
Koscielny (Calf) – the manager will be boosted by the return of crucial
first team members in Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott – who could get a few
minutes under their belt on Wednesday.
Match Facts
Anderlecht
have played 28 times against English sides (W6 D4 L18). At home their record is
W5 D3 L6 (not including the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup final versus West
Ham United FC).
Four
of their previous six fixtures against Belgian sides have involved R. Standard
de Liège, Arsenal beating them away (3-2) and home (2-0) in the 2009/10 group
stage. Cyriac appeared as a second-half substitute for Standard at
Arsenal Stadium on 24 November 2009.
The
Dortmund reverse is Besnik Hasi’s side’s only defeat in 15 matches this term.
Arsenal
have won just two of their eight league games this season, four fewer than at
the same stage last term.
Key Men
Dennis Praet – RSC Anderlecht
Praet,
the Belgian attacking midfielder has scored the only goal the team has managed
in this season’s Champions league so far, with the crucial opener against
Galatasaray which would later get cancelled out rather cruelly by a stoppage
time equalizer from Yilmaz. The 20-year old produced a man-of-the-performance
that night, putting in a shift that saw him make 2 successful tackles, complete
a dribble and eventually got the goal the team wanted. With a 90% pass
success rate, Praet is one of the more technically sound players in the
squad and he could be the manager’s go-to man to upset the visitors.
Danny Welbeck – Arsenal
Danny
Welbeck has hit the ground running at his new club, doing justice to his fairly
high price tag. The English forward has already reached a personal landmark
with Arsenal scoring his first Champions League hat-trick for the gunners at
home in the comprehensive victory against Galatasaray. He’s also on a good
scoring run in general for both club and country, as he also managed to convert
an Alexis Sanchez lay-off into a goal – what was a vital equalizer during the
weekend that saved the blushes against Hull. With Giroud and Sanogo sidelined
due to injury, Danny Welbeck has shouldered a lot of responsibility, something
the manager will want to continue going into this crucial trip to the Constant
Vanden Stock Stadium.
Stats
courtesy – Squawka.com
Prediction
Arsenal
to win this By 2 goals to nothing
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