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Anderlecht host Vitesse at Lotto Park in Belgium for the first leg of their playoffs in the 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Purple and Whites haven't played in a major European tournament proper since going out in the group stages of the Europa League in 2018.
However, this new competition has given them a chance to end the drought and bring European nights back to Anderlecht.
The Belgian outfit beat Laci of Albania in the last round in a 5-1 aggregate victory and stand just 180 minutes away from entering the hat for the first-ever Conference League draw.
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Vitesse, meanwhile, are looking to get into only their second-ever European adventure, having made their debut back in 2017 with the Europa League.
The Vitas finished fourth in the Dutch Eredivisie last season to secure a place in the qualifying rounds and beat Irish side Dundalk 4-3 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.
Anderlecht vs Vitesse Head-To-Head
This is the first competitive meeting between the sides, but Vitesse beat Anderlecht in a friendly match in January 2016.
Anderlecht Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-D-W-W
Vitesse Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-L-W-W
Anderlecht vs Vitesse Team News
Anderlecht
Head coach Vincent Kompany might field the same lineup that beat Lac in their last round of qualifiers.
However, Bayern Munich's on-loan star Joshua Zirkzee made a strong case at the weekend by netting a brace in the league. He could start on Thursday.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Vitesse
The Vitas also have a clean bill of health going into the match, with manager Thomas Letsch likely to trust the same starting XI which secured a 2-1 away victory against Dundalk in the last round.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Anderlecht vs Vitesse Predicted XI
Anderlecht (4-4-2): Hendrik Van Crombrugge; Killian Sardella, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Wesley Hoedt, Sergio Gomez; Francis Amuzu, Josh Cullen, Kristoffer Olsson, Anouar Ait El Hadj; Benito Raman, Isaac Kiese Thelin.
Vitesse (3-4-3): Markus Schubert; Riechedly Bazoer, Danilho Doekhi, Alois Oroz; Maximilian Wittek, Yann Gboho, Sondre Tronstad, Million Manhoef; Matus Bero, Oussama Darfalou, Nikolai Frederiksen.
Anderlecht vs Vitesse Prediction
Both sides are fairly evenly matched and have good quality in their respective squads. But if the last round of qualifiers is anything to go by, Vitesse have a slightly weaker defense.
Anderlecht could also count on their home advantage to secure a narrow victory.
Prediction: Anderlecht 2-1 Vitesse
