West Ham United head to Brussels on Thursday evening to take on Belgian side Anderlecht in a crucial Europa Conference League Group B match.
The Hammers currently sit top of their group after two games following wins over FCSB and Silkeborg and have a two point lead over their upcoming Belgian opponents in second heading into back-to-back meetings with them in the space of a week.
Anderlecht secured a 1-0 win over Silkeborg on Matchday 1 but were held to a goalless draw by FCSB in their second game, with West Ham’s double header against the Purple and White having the potential to decide the fate of Group B.
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In the Europa Conference League, the winner of each of the eight groups is automatically placed into March’s round of 16, with the right runners up having to face a third-place Europa League side in the play-off knockout round in February, with top spot playing two fewer games and earning more prize money for winning their groups.
In the Premier League, West Ham enter the game having taken seven out of a possible 18 points from their last six league games, sitting 15 th in the table after a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Anderlecht meanwhile are on a poorer run of form. In their last six matches in the league, they have earned only four points, losing on Sunday 1-0 at home to Charleroi. That result leaves them tenth in the Belgian Pro League, 14 points behind league leaders Royal Antwerp.
West Ham have been the big scorers in Group B so far this season, netting six goals in two games. Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio, Emerson, Gianluca Scamacca, Manuel Lanzini and Craig Dawson have all netted in the competition. Only Istanbul Basaksehir and Lech Poznan (both seven) have scored more group goals than the Hammers.
David Moyes’ side’s fortunes in this competition so far have come in attack, while in defence Anderlecht are one of only three teams in the group stages not to concede a goal, alongside Turkish side Basaksehir and fellow Belgians Gent.
It is only the second competitive meeting between West Ham and Anderlecht. They last met in May 1976 in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, with Anderlecht lifting the trophy after a 4-2 win.
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