Haecken – Anderlecht

Anderlecht will demonstrate their superiority over the opponent in the return match.

Häcken became Swedish champions for the first time in its history a few years ago. However, the club from Gothenburg does not yet possess the quality that would allow it to remain at a high level for several consecutive years. The 'hornets' qualified for the Europa League in the current season on the last day of May this year, when they beat the country’s champion in the final of the Swedish Cup after a penalty shootout. It so happened that at the time of the cup final, Malmoe was in frankly poor form, which only improved in the last month. Thus, Häcken entered the Europa League as a mid-table team in the Swedish championship. Anderlecht qualified for the Conference League from the fourth position in the national championship, significantly lagging behind Union Saint-Gilloise, Brugge, and Genk. The once-dominant club in Belgium has been going through a tough time lately, but performs relatively consistently in European competitions. Bookmakers have identified the visitors as the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.04 on their victory. The first meeting of the rivals took place a week ago in Belgium. Midway through the first half, the local club scored a goal through Dolberg and maintained a narrow lead until the final whistle. Throughout the match, Häcken failed to make a single shot on target. To put it mildly, Häcken did not perform well in their Swedish championship match over the past weekend. The 'hornets' hosted Djurgården at their arena and conceded four unanswered goals in the first half. In the second half, red cards started to pile up for the Gothenburg club, leading to a final defeat of 1-6. Perhaps Häcken sacrificed this championship match for the upcoming encounter, but the heavy home defeat certainly does not boost the players' morale. Conversely, Anderlecht had a diametrically opposite experience in the first round of the Belgian championship. By the middle of the second half of their match against Westerlo, the score was 2-2, but the visitors to the upcoming match left the field with a victory of 5-2. Anderlecht will feel much more relaxed in Gothenburg, as they have the advantage from the first match and can take their time. The visitors are closer to victory.