RSC Anderlecht v West Ham United
UEFA Europa Conference League Group B, Lotto Park, Thursday 6 October, 6.45pm CEST (5.45pm BST)
West Ham United continue the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) Group B campaign at RSC Anderlecht on Thursday evening.
David Moyes' side return to Belgium for the second consecutive season in Europe, having drawn 2-2 at KRC Genk in UEFA Europa League Group H last season courtesy of a Saïd Benrahma double.
The Irons head to Brussels with two wins from two Group B matches played, having defeated Romanians FCSB 3-1 at London Stadium and Danish side Silkeborg IF 3-2 on the road in September.
Anderlecht are also unbeaten, having beaten Silkeborg 1-0 at Lotto Park on Matchday One, then drawn 0-0 at FCSB last time out.
Thursday's tie marks the second competitive European meeting between the two historic clubs, with the first being Anderlecht's 4-2 win over West Ham in the 1976 European Cup Winners' Cup final, which was also played in the Belgian capital.
A 1,300-strong Claret and Blue Army will descend upon Anderlecht's 21,500-capacity Lotto Park stadium on Thursday evening, with a capacity crowd and a lively atmosphere expected.
Here is all the essential information for you ahead of the game...
Match information…
There will also be NO goal-line technology or VAR in operation at Lotto Park on Thursday evening. There is also no VAR in use in the UECL this season.
If a player receives three cautions during the group stage he will be required to serve a one-match suspension. Maxwel Cornet, Aaron Cresswell, Angelo Ogbonna and Emerson have all received one caution so far.
Each manager can name up to 12 substitutes, of whom five can be used on three occasions (plus half-time). There are no additional ‘concussion substitutes’ available in UEFA Club Competitions.
The 2022/23 UECL final will be hosted at Slavia Prague’s Fortuna Arena in the Czech Republic on 7 June next year.
Tickets...
West Ham United's allocation of 1,132 Standard Tickets for this match sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 40+ points.
Travelling supporters should monitor their email accounts for details of where to collect their tickets for Thursday's tie and other relevant information.
Accessibility Tickets are available priced at £31 in all age bands. For both Wheelchair Viewing Spaces and Accessible (AEA), tickets are charged at the relevant price band. Please call our Ticket Office team on 0333 030 0174 or email [email protected].
How To Follow…
Thursday's tie will be broadcast live in the UK by BT Sport 2. More information on how to watch can be found by clicking here.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Travel...
The Eurostar train is the quickest and easiest way to travel between London and Brussels, with services departing St Pancras International station every couple of hours throughout the day on Thursday, arriving at Brussels Midi two hours later.
On Friday, return services in the middle of the day are already close to being sold-out, but you can still secure a place on trains leaving approximately every three hours from Midi, starting with the 08.52.
If you’d rather fly, flights are available leaving London Heathrow on Brussels Airlines (of course!) at 06.50 and 11.05, landing in the Belgian capital at 09.00 and 13.15 respectively. There is also a British Airways option leaving Heathrow at 12.40, landing at 14.55.
For those who would like to take things slowly, ferries cross the English Channel from Dover to Calais (two hours and 20 minutes’ drive to Brussels) and Dunkirk (one hour and 50 minutes’ drive) on the north French coast.
Lotto Park's address is Av. Théo Verbeeck 2, 1070 Anderlecht, Belgium.
Team News...
Winger Maxwel Cornet went off during the first half of Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at London Stadium with a lower leg injury and his fitness is being monitored.
Full-back Ben Johnson has returned to training after recovering from a thigh problem, but Morocco centre-back Nayef Aguerd is working his way back after suffering an ankle injury in pre-season.
Anderlecht's only injury issues surround central midfielder Adrien Trébel, who has been out with a shoulder injury since August, and Belgium U21 international defensive midfielder Marco Kana, who has only featured once this season.
The Opposition...
When you think of Belgian club football, you almost certainly think first of Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht.
Based in the country’s capital, Brussels, Anderlecht have won a record five European trophies, along with 34 Belgian First Division titles and nine Belgian Cups, also both national records.
After dominating domestically in the 1960s, winning five straight First Division titles between 1963/64 and 1967/68 – another record – Anderlecht became one of Europe’s leading clubs in the 1970s and early 1980s.
After reaching the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970, when they lost to Arsenal, Anderlecht reached three straight European Cup Winners’ Cup finals in 1976, 1977 and 1978. The first, any West Ham United fan will tell you, saw the Belgian Cup holders defeat the Hammers 4-2 in their home city at Brussels’ Heysel Stadium.
West Germans Hamburg proved too strong in 1977, but Anderlecht bounced back to defeat Austria Vienna 4-0 the following year.
And further proof of the Belgians’ class was shown as they overcame two of the 1970s’ other European powerhouses, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, over two legs to lift the European Super Cup in both 1976 and 1978.
Into the 1980s and Anderlecht became the first – and only – Belgian club to win the UEFA Cup, holding off Portuguese giants Benfica to do so in 1983. Only goalkeeper Tony Parks’ heroics prevented them repeating that success the following year, when Tottenham Hotspur defeated RSCA on penalties in the final.
Anderlecht reached a fourth European Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1990, losing to Italians Sampdoria, but have not been back to another since.
While the First Division titles continued to flow into the new millennium, the Purple and White have seen their previously vice-like grip on Belgian domestic football loosened in recent years.
Anderlecht have been crowned champions just once in the previous eight seasons, as their historic rivals Club Brugge have emerged as the country’s dominant force, topping the First Division in four of the last five campaigns, while West Ham’s UEFA Europa League group-stage opponents from last season, KRC Genk, won the title in 2019.
After years of relative stability under the ownership of the Vanden Stock family, who had run the club since the 1970s, Anderlecht have changed hands twice since 2018, first to pharmaceuticals magnate Marc Coucke, then to media entrepreneur Wouter Vandenhaute.
There have also been regular changes in the dugout, with seven men holding the position of manager since 2017.
Chairman Vandenhaute will hope the latest, reigning Belgian Manager of the Season Felice Mazzù, will build on the success he brought to previous clubs White Star Woluwe, Genk and Union SG.
Results so far have been mixed domestically, with Antwerp and Genk's outstanding starts seemingly putting the First Division title beyond them already, but Anderlecht will hope the UEFA Europa Conference League offers a chance to return European glory to Brussels.
Match Officials
Referee: Novak Simovic (SRB)
Assistant Referees: Nikola Djorović (SRB) & Miloš Simović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Milan Mitic (SRB)
Thursday's match officials all come from Serbia, led by FIFA and UEFA list official Novak Simonic.
The 40-year-old is an experienced referee who has taken charge of matches in the Serbian top-flight since 2011 and UEFA club competitions since 2019.
Simovic has refereed UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying ties and eight Serbian Super Liga matches already this season and was the man in the middle for Lithuania's UEFA Nations League defeat by Turkey in June.
He also refereed the 2019 Serbian Cup final between Red Star and Partizan Belgrade.
