Sybaris Ali 
Andy Astfalck/Getty Images Sport
Celtic will aim to bounce back after their opening day defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League when they take on Anderlecht in Brussels on Wednesday night. The Hoops eased to a 2-0 win in the Glasgow Derby at the weekend and will look register their first points in this season’s Champions League group stage.
Overview
Founded in 1908, Anderlecht are current Belgian champions and were seeded in Pot 3 for Champions League. Anderlecht who are one of the more recognised teams in Belgian football, have won an impressive 34 league titles and nine Belgian Cups. Currently they are in seventh place in Belgian top flight having made a poor start to their league campaign. In the eight league matches they have played this season, they have won three, drawn three and lost two. Their league form meant that manager Rene Weiler was sacked, with Nicolas Frutos now taking charge of first-team affairs.
European Pedigree
Anderlecht have an abundance of European experience with the Belgian side regularly competing in UEFA competitions. Last season, Anderlecht managed to navigate through the Europa League group stages and were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by winners Manchester United.
Anderlecht finished second in their Europa League group, only losing one of their group stage matches to French side St-Etienne. Gabala FK from Azerbaijan and Mainz from Germany also competed in Anderlecht’s but failed to beat the Belgian side. Anderlecht also boasted an impressive home record in last season’s Europa League with side from Brussels not losing a single game in the seven home matches they played.
Out with last season’s Europa League campaign, Anderlecht have previous history of winning European Silverware. In 1976, Anderlecht won the Uefa Cup Winners Cup beating West Ham 4-2 in Brussels and subsequently went onto win the Uefa Super Cup in 1976 beating Bayern Munich.
Two years later history was to repeat itself when Anderlecht again won the Uefa Cup Winners Cup beating Austria Wien 4-0 in the final with the Belgian side going onto win the Uefa Super Cup by beating Liverpool. Their last piece of European silverware was in 1983 when they won the newly branded Uefa Cup beating Benfica 2-1 on aggregate in the final.
Celtic have faced the Belgian side twice in the 2003 Champions League group stages, with both sides winning their home game. The most recent meeting was at Celtic Park as Martin O’Neill’s side ran out 3-1 winners.
🇧🇪 The last time Celtic played Anderlecht in the 2003 Champions League group stages pic.twitter.com/qzMzgZRub5
— Read Celtic and The Trinity Tims (@ReadCeltic) September 24, 2017
Danger Men
Undoubtedly Anderlecht have a very talented team but they do not possess the same threat as they did in last year’s Europa League campaign. In particular, the Belgian side are trying to find the right formula in midfield after star man Youri Tielemans moved to Monaco for €25m in the summer.
Anderlecht though did bring in former Celtic target Henry Onyekuru, on a season long loan from Everton in the summer. The Nigerian winger has four goals in 10 games for the Belgian side this season and is currently their top goalscorer.
Polish striker, Lukasz Teodorczyk, is another danger man that the Hoops have to look out for. Teodorczyk scored five goals in last season’s Europa League run but has only netted two times this season. Regardless though, his overall movement could be an issue for the Hoops backline with the Pole being known as a well renowned goalpoacher.
Leander Dendoncker is the key midfielder for Anderlecht and will look to break any Celtic attacks during the match. Typically a defensive midfielder, Dendoncker aged just 22, has played over 80 games for Anderlecht and looks a very bright prospect for the future. The Belgian midfielder is a mature player on the ball and his height in the middle of the park could cause Celtic issues.
Anderlecht line-up in last league match vs Waasland-Beveren: (4-1-4-1) Boeckx (GK); SowahAppiah (RB), Spajic (CB), Deschacht (CB), Adjei (LB); Dendonckner (CDM); Bruno (RM), Trebel (CM), Stanciu (CM), Hanni (LM); Harbaoui (ST)
Where the match may be won or lost
In the grand context of the group, Celtic have to perform well and get a result in Brussels on Wednesday night. Failure to do so would heap pressure on Celtic’s chances of European football after Christmas.
One key area to highlight is Celtic’s current away European record under Brendan Rodgers. Celtic have only lost four away matches in European competition, but the bigger bonus for the Hoops manager will be the side’s performances away from home in last seasons Champions League group stages. Barring the Barcelona result last season, Celtic picked up points in Monchengladbach and in Manchester. In both fixtures, the Bhoys created ample chances to win the match and were very unlucky not to pick up an away win.
That being said, Celtic’s only away win in Champions League format came when the Hoops beat Spartak Moscow in 2012. However, many could argue that this current Celtic side are more equipped than ever away from home. Rodgers’ style suits the Scottish Champions in away matches more than at home. Their quick and dynamic counter-attacking football could provide the chance with Celtic to earn their first points in the group.
Anderlecht may have lost their opening group game to Bayern Munich by three goals without reply and the Belgian side being down to 10 men for 80 minutes of the match. When both teams collide in Brussels on Wednesday, Celtic will feel they can match their Belgian counterparts and have a serious chance of picking up all three points. But if they have a chance of winning, Rodgers will need to set-up the team in a more aggressive manner unlike the PSG fixture.
Celtic manager Rodgers will have a number of selection headaches on Wednesday. His biggest issue is whether to go with the attacking creative midfielder or sacrifice that attacking midfielder for a more defensive option as he did last time out in the competition. Aggression is key in this fixture but in possession the Hoops have to be better on the ball in Europe. In the opening group game against PSG, Celtic simply didn’t pass the ball well enough when they had the chance to. On Wednesday, they may have a little more time in possession, but it is crucial for the Hoops to win the midfield battle.
Therefore given Celtic’s possession based style and counter attacking play, Rodgers may look to go for 4-2-3-1 instead of 4-3-3. Scott Brown is a certainty to start, and Olivier Nthcam will also start, but who will accompany them? Will Stuart Armstrong play alongside them once again or move into a more attacking role? Can Tom Rogic consolidate his place in the side after impressing last season on the counter attack for Celtic? The Aussie was pivotal in their success to get at Manchester City in the first meeting last year, and has stepped up time and time again when the Hoops need a winner. Or could Callum McGregor get the nod after a number of impressive appearances? The highly rated Scotsman could be the key player in the match if he was to play and his ball retention is so good that Rodgers may opt for him in the middle of the park.
Defensively Celtic are at their strongest they’ve been in a while. With Dedryck Boyata back and Jozo Simunvoic shrugging off his injury worries, the back four should be more compact and more organised compared to the PSG match. Celtic also pose their strongest attack in a some time too. Rodgers has a plethora of forward players, and the physicality of Moussa Dembele could see him get the nod over Leigh Griffiths. While out wide, the option of Scott Sinclair, James Forrest and Patrick Roberts will give plenty of variety in their attacking play.
The key for Celtic in this game is to keep the ball when they have it and move the opposition around to create space once they’re in possession. Celtic can ill afford to lose this match given what may be at stake in the group. Rodgers will have to decide whether to go for a more defensive counter attacking starting XI or set up to match and go to beat the Belgian side on Wednesday night.
