Anderlecht vs Spartak Trnava Predictions

It’s been anything but a vintage Europa League campaign for Anderlecht, who find themselves bottom of Group D with just two matches remaining. If they win here and Fenerbahce are defeated by group leaders Dinamo Zagreb, then the Belgians will still have the faintest hope of advancing to the knockout rounds, though it appears that the damage is already done.

Back at the start of the tournament, though few would’ve expected Anderlecht to cruise through this group, there can’t have been many people who would’ve had the Belgians down as the worse team out of the four, but that is exactly what they’ve been. Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s men have nobody to blame but themselves, as they’ve simply not been good enough and are thus deservedly sat with just a single point.

From a defensive point of view, the Belgians haven’t been at the races in Europe this season, as they’ve conceded a total of seven goals, shipping at least once in each of their four matches. They’ve also given up an average of 1.43 expected goals in this competition. However, while their defensive efforts have been very poor, it is what Vanhaezebrouck’s men have done in the final third that has caught the eye most, and not for the right reasons. Anderlecht have scored in just one of their three matches in Group D, while they’re averaging a pathetic 0.75 expected goals for.

Trnava have hardly been impressive, but they ought not to fear the hosts, that’s for sure, especially since they beat them in the reverse fixture.

Unlike the hosts, Trnava’s struggles aren’t a surprise; they lack the quality to compete against decent sides such as Fenerbahce and Dinamo Zagreb, though they’re not been disgraced. The Slovakians struggled to match the aforementioned duo, but they more than matched Anderlecht in the reverse of this fixture, so there’s reason to believe that the visitors can get competitive.

From a betting point of view, given that they’ve got almost no chance of progressing, coupled with the fact that they’ve been very poor in the competition so far, it’s tough to feel that Anderlecht warrant such strong odds-on favouritism. It would be no surprise if manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck prioritised the league and thus fielded a less than full strength side, while the visitors have hardly been any worse than the Belgians.

At the prices, Trnava, who’ve scored more goals and who’re averaging more expected goals then the hosts, are backed to gain a positive result.