Tonight Anderlecht will face Bordeaux in the return leg of the 16th-finals of the UEFA Cup. The Mauves will defend the narrow 2-1 lead from the first leg. Not an ideal position since a 1-0 victory would put Bordeaux through.
Ariël Jacobs' men will thus need to score in order to put Bordeaux under pressure. The club is hoping for a replay of their 2003 meeting with the French side. Anderlecht then defeated Bordeaux 0-2 in the third round of the UEFA Cup.
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Continue reading The task is anything but easy. Bordeaux have recovered from their defeat in the first leg by pummeling AS Monaco, winning 6-0. On top of that, Laurent Blanc won't be making the same mistakes as last week when he left playmaker Micoud and top striker Cavenaghi on the bench. Bordeaux, however, will have to make due without the injured Jussie, who scored from the penalty spot in Brussels. Diarra is sitting out a suspension.
Anderlecht coach Jacobs can count on Gillet, who returns from suspension, and Ahmed Hassan this time around. The Egyptian playmaker is finally back from the Africa cup and made the trip along with his team-mates to Bordeaux. Presumely, he will start on the bench. Pareja and Serhat are also back in the line-up. Goor, on the other hand, is suspended.
A place in the eight-finals is at stake. If Anderlecht manage to keep their footing in Bordeaux tonight, it will meet the winner of the game between Aberdeen and Bayern Munich. The team can count on the vocal support of about 2000 fans who made the trip to France.
