Anderlecht vs Kairat Almaty

Anderlecht welcome Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty to their usual Lotto Park home on Thursday for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off, with a spot in the league phase on the line. The Brussels club are aiming to preserve a proud record of having never been eliminated at this stage of the competition in the Europa League era, while their visitors are stepping into uncharted territory against unfamiliar opposition.

Team News and Injury Latest

Anderlecht head coach Bruno has significant selection issues to contend with. Ilay Camara and Lucas Hey are both ruled out with foot injuries sustained in pre-season, while Killian Sardella remains a fitness doubt as he continues his recovery from muscle surgery. Mario Stroeykens is also a doubt, and Cedric Hatenboer is unavailable after undergoing an operation on a broken nose picked up in training. Ali Maamar and Mihajlo Cvetkovic will need to be careful, having been booked in the last European outing.

Kairat Almaty have a fully fit squad to choose from. Manager Urazbakhtin has no fresh injury concerns after his side emerged unscathed from their Champions League qualifying exit to Levski Sofia. Edmilson could return to the starting line-up having been dropped for the second leg against the Bulgarians, after scoring domestically against Ulytau last weekend.

Anderlecht Form Guide

Anderlecht saw off PAOK 4-2 on aggregate in the previous round, winning 1-0 in Greece before a 3-2 home victory. That momentum was checked by a 1-0 Pro League defeat at Waasland-Beveren, their first loss of the domestic season. The Brussels side’s last five in all competitions read DWWWWL, and they will be leaning on the goals of Danylo Sikan and Lukas Ambros, who both found the net against PAOK.

Kairat Almaty Form Guide

Kairat arrive in Belgium having fallen 2-0 on aggregate to Levski Sofia in the Champions League third qualifying round, a tie derailed by Aleksandr Shirobokov’s first-leg red card. Their domestic form tells a different story: a comfortable 3-1 victory over Ulytau last time out maintained a strong run in the Kazakhstan Premier League. The Kazakh side have kept the same core group throughout qualifying, with Temirlan Anarbekov in goal and Marc Gual leading the line.

Key Battle: Ambros and Sikan vs the Kairat Backline

Anderlecht’s attacking duo of Lukas Ambros and Danylo Sikan, who both scored in the PAOK tie, will test a Kairat defence that has struggled to keep clean sheets in Europe. The Belgian side’s forward line is up against a likely centre-back pairing of Shirobokov and Africo, who must avoid the disciplinary lapses that cost them in the Levski defeat.

Thursday’s first leg gives Kairat the chance to take a result back to Almaty, while Anderlecht know a strong performance in Brussels would put them in command before what promises to be a testing trip to the Central Stadium for the return fixture.