In the national league, Anderlecht have languished in the mid-table for quite some time, but from the start of the UEFA Europa League, they've been performing well. The Belgian club hope to secure an away victory as they face Viktoria Plzeň, a mid-tier opponent in the tournament.
It appears that Viktoria Plzeň currently lack competitive match practice. The Czech First League took a one-and-a-half-month break, resuming in early February. They haven't played competitively in over three weeks and only returned to their routine on 9 January. However, they remained unbeaten in friendlies, drawing 2:2 with 2. Bundesliga's Paderborn 07 and winning by identical 2:0 scores against Polish side Piast Gliwice and Swedish club AIK.
Anderlecht approach the seventh round of the Europa League ranked as the third team in the group stage, yet not as favourites, which might seem odd. This is due to a series of injuries that have recently plagued the club. Anderlecht lost to their arch-rivals Club Brugge in the penultimate round of the Pro League (0:3) and suffered several significant personnel losses. Winger Francis Amuzu and striker Kasper Dolberg, who scored 18 goals in 31 matches, are out. In the next game, a Belgian Cup clash against Royal Antwerp (1:0), another left-winger, Samuel Edozie, was also injured. Only Amuzu has a chance of recovery, while the others will be sidelined until February.
With such a depleted attack, the Belgian side's strength is considerably diminished, making Viktoria Plzeň justifiably backed with at least a handicap of zero. Before this, the hosts had only lost one Europa League match—and that was against Manchester United (1:2), riding the adrenaline of appointing a new head coach.
