Football Bet of the Day: New boss Still backed to start slow in Belgium

Thursday night sees the Belgian Cup reach the semi-final stage, with Anderlecht facing Royal Antwerp in the first leg of the last four at the Constant Vanden Stock (20:30 local, 19:30 GMT, live on DAZN).

The hosts come into this one without a permanent head coach following the sacking this week of Besnik Hasi after 10 months in charge. Read on for our Football Bet of the Day for Thursday.

Anderlecht vs Royal Antwerp Odds

A quick glance at this fixture might lead many onlookers to believe Anderlecht would be a shoo-in. With 34 league titles and nine domestic cups to their name, they are certainly the bigger name of the pair.

Yet their present reality is far removed from their lofty status, with their league title drought looking set to reach a post-war record ninth season.

They currently sit in fourth place, 13 points off leaders Union Saint-Gilloise, with a five-game winless league run having been the last straw for the board, who swiftly removed Hasi after Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Standard Liege.

The Albanian had arrived last March but struggled to get the Mauves going in the league play-offs and led them to a 2-1 defeat in the Belgian Cup final against Club Brugge.

On Thursday they come up against an Antwerp side who trail them by just six points in the league and boast the second-best defence in the division behind leaders USG.

Joseph Oosting came in shortly before Christmas and has made the Reds a much stronger shout for a place in the Championship play-offs than they were under Stef Wils.

With six wins, two defeats and a league draw with Anderlecht to their name since the coach’s arrival, Antwerp fans are looking up rather than down once more. It also helps that former Netherlands international Vincent Janssen remains a regular scoring threat up top.

So they will arrive in Brussels with a real belief, whereas Edward Still – yes, the brother of former Lens and Southampton boss Will – takes temporary charge of Anderlecht for the first time with a need to bring some stability back to a side which has shipped 10 goals in five league games.

Looking at their respective records this term, too, there’s a great possibility for these two cancelling each other out. Especially when you consider Antwerp’s record of nine goals conceded in 11 away fixtures.

As such, I believe there will be a caginess about this first leg, with the Mauves looking to build a solidity first and foremost. Meanwhile, Antwerp will be keen to have a base from which to make the most of home advantage in a week’s time.

That makes the 12/5 about the draw in Thursday’s opener look particularly appealing, with the implied 29.4% probability feeling like an underestimate.

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