Match Previews

Belgians have only one of their last ten European home fixtures...Pieroni (att) and Vleck (att) ineligible... Goalkeeper Zitka (k)(gk) is doubtful while Akin (r)(att), Chetelle (k)(mid) and Legear (k)(att) have knocks... The quartet should all return for Wednesday... Deschacht (def) and Frutos (att) are out long term... Anderlecht may have been impressive four-two winners over Molenbeek on Saturday however they will face a much sterner test when Bordeaux arrive in Belgium to face them on Wednesday. Injury problems will certainly be at the forefront of head coach José Cantero’s thinking as he could be without several of his most vital players. Frutos, who was incredibly prolific last season, will certainly miss out as he is still in the rehabilitation stage from a lengthy injury. Defender Olivier Deschacht is in a similar situation. Akin and Legear, two other important attacking players, have been training individually of late with a view to making Wednesday’s game but, like influential midfielder Thomas Chatelle, are rated doubtful. Chantelle trained with the squad yesterday but is far from peak condition. Anderlecht at least received a boost as goalkeeper Daniel Zitka, rated as the best currently in Belgium and a key reason as to why RSC retained their league championship last season, returned for the Molenbeek match at the weekend.  Anderlecht’s form this season as a whole has been disappointing; the prospects of them retaining their league table are virtually nil as they currently sit in sixth spot some way of challenging at the head of the table. Partly this has been down to the injuries suffered to some of their best players, most notably Frutos. There has been a recent improvement as RSC have gone on an unbeaten run of five games stretching back to mid-December. Vleck cannot start in attack as he too is ineligible and so Akin is likely to play with only Akin in attack on Wednesday evening simply because of a lack of other serious options while little change is expected in the midfield. Goor could return if it is felt an experienced head would make a significant difference however Czech midfielder Polak will likely be the star man should he recover from a knock sustained at the weekend while Van Damme is not certain to play in the defence either. At the back Anderlecht have proven to be fragile and with Bordeaux’s expertise in attack it seems unlikely they will keep a clean sheet.