Soccer Prediction For 24th Thursday, Anderlecht VS Hacken
Preview: Anderlecht vs. Hacken – prediction, team news, lineups
Anderlecht welcome Hacken to Lotto Park in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round, aiming to secure a positive result on Thursday ahead of next week’s reverse fixture in Sweden.
However, the Belgian outfit must overcome the slight disadvantage of not having any competitive action in the lead-up to the encounter, as the Swedish side is in the middle of their domestic season, which started in March.
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Anderlecht | Match Time & Date: 19:00 24/07/2025 Tips: 1 |
Hacken |
Match preview
While Anderlecht are favourites to beat Hacken over two legs in Europa League qualifying, Besnik Hasi’s team must begin their doubleheader without competitive action.
Since the end of the previous season in Belgium, the Purple and White have only played friendly matches over the past four weeks, securing three wins and drawing twice.
Although those victories have come against opponents they were expected to defeat, Sporting fans will be pleased to host Hacken in their current form rather than how they finished the previous season.
Anderlecht lost four consecutive matches to end the last campaign, including a defeat in the domestic cup final against Club Brugge on May 4, as well as further losses to Union Saint-Gilloise, Club Brugge and Genk.
Remaining unbeaten in pre-season, though against moderately challenging opponents, should benefit the Belgian side as they prepare to face their Swedish visitors, aiming to reach the Main Path third qualifying round, where they could meet either Brann or Red Bull Salzburg.
Unlike their hosts, whose domestic season begins at home against Westerlo on July 27, Hacken have been engaged in competitive league matches since the Swedish Allsvenskan started in late March.
Having played 16 matches already, Jens Gustafsson’s men are clearly the team with more competitive minutes under their belt entering their Europa League qualifying match.
The Wasps have already defeated the Slovakian side Spartak Trnava in the first qualifying round, even though the aggregate score of 3-2 highlighted how close the ties were over 180 minutes.
Including those results against the Slovak team, Hacken now travels to Brussels on a five-match unbeaten streak, with three wins and two draws.
After failing to qualify for the league phase of last season’s Conference League, Hacken must beat ostensibly stronger opponents to eventually secure a spot in this season’s Europa League.