Europa League, group stage, Wednesday, 09/25/2024 at 9:00 p.m.
Just a week after the Champions League, the Europa League, including a new league system, kicks off on Wednesday. Among the 36 teams competing for a place in the knockout phase are RSC Anderlecht and Hungarian champions Ferencvaros Budapest.
The opening game of the league phase will see these two teams face each other when Ferencvaros visits the Belgian capital on Wednesday evening. In my Anderlecht Ferencvaros Budapest betting tip, I explain why I think goals on both sides are highly likely.
First, the good news for all football fans: anyone who has understood this year’s Champions League system can look forward to exactly the same process in the Europa League.
Five games, five wins – the Hungarian champions are picking up where they left off in the league last season. With six championships in a row, Ferencvaros is considered the absolute pinnacle of the Nemzeti Bajnoksag.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League, Pascal Jensen’s team now wants to cause a stir in the Europa League. In terms of the squad, Ferencvaros is by no means one of the favorites, but they are always capable of progressing.
I think the Belgians have a slightly better chance, as their squad is worth almost twice as much as that of the guests. However, coach Hubert has to do without several of his key players.
With Anders Dreyer, Thorgan Hazard, Jan Vertonghen and Ludwig Augustinsson, four key players are missing due to injury, while Budapest can draw on unlimited resources.
Despite the long list of injuries, the Belgian record champions can still be proud of themselves. But there is a big but: the home side have not won a competitive game in four matches.
Although they were allowed to play three consecutive home games in the Lotto Park, they failed to score. After the international break, a 2-2 draw against Westerlo was followed by a disappointing 2-0 home defeat against KRC Genk, after which they could not get beyond a goalless draw against Charleroi at the weekend.
The sudden dip in form is not necessarily explained by the good start to the season, as RSC were able to win three of the first four league games.
During my research, I found out that this is not the first time that these two clubs have faced each other in a competitive game. In 1995, the paths of the two teams crossed twice when they competed against each other in the Champions League qualifiers.
In the former Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, the Eastern Central Europeans were able to prevail thanks to a 1-0 victory.
As the top teams in their respective domestic leagues, both Anderlecht and Ferencvaros have plenty of international experience. This is the eighth time that RSC has competed in the Europa League, while the guests from Hungary are competing for the fourth time.
Before I continue with the odds distribution of the betting providers, I have to make one thing clear: the last league results of the two teams can only be considered a factor to a limited extent, as the Belgian league is many times stronger than the Hungarian one.
It therefore makes sense that, according to the bookmakers, the hosts are the favorites. For a victory by the Belgians, Bookie Betano, which provides its own sports betting app, still offers the highest value for a home win in the form of odds of 2.15.
If you want to bet on an away win, you can look forward to lucrative odds of up to 3.5. Even the double chance X2 is noted with multipliers of up to 1.75 and could prove to be a real stroke of luck.
If you look at which clubs are taking part in the Europa League this season, it seems unlikely to me that Anderlecht and Ferencvaros will make it through directly. I wouldn’t be surprised if both the Belgians and the Hungarians had to go through the playoffs again.
In the still young season, there was even a change of coach at the home side. The 2-0 home defeat was also the last game with Brian Riemer on the sidelines; the former U18 coach David Hubert is now taking over on an interim basis.
His debut against Charleroi on Saturday evening was rather mediocre, however, as in the weeks before, Anderlecht lacked a goal-scoring threat. This is also evidenced by the fact that Anderlecht have not scored in three of their last four games.
Even though RSC is currently experiencing turbulent times with injuries and a change of coach, I still think they are the favorites against Ferencvaros. It will not be an easy task for the guests to prepare for the opponent, as Hubert’s philosophy is not yet clear and there is still a lot of talent in the squad with Leander Dendoncker, Kasper Dolberg, Yari Verschaeren, and Mario Stroeykens.
Anderlecht want to take advantage of this factor, but at the same time the Eastern Europeans are taking the long journey with a great deal of self-confidence. I strongly assume that neither team will be dissatisfied with the opposing lot, which is why we could expect an open game.
My prediction: Both teams score!
