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Anderlecht hope for home comfort

RSC Anderlecht hope a 12th unbeaten domestic league game can give them the confidence to end a nightmare run of ten UEFA Champions League defeats.

Lokeren test
Anderlecht travel to KSC Lokeren OV tonight hoping for a win to maintain the pressure on First Division leaders R. Standard de Liège. It might also provide their beleaguered players with a morale boost as they look to end their UEFA Champions League group stage agony next week.

Narrow defeat
A slender 1-0 home reverse against Liverpool FC extended the Brussels club's losing run in the UEFA Champions League group stage into double figures. However, they are making domestic headlines after starting the season unbeaten after eleven matches.

Offside flag
The most recent saw Anderlecht hold fellow UEFA Champions League contenders Club Brugge KV to a 2-2 draw in the capital, with an offside flag denying Turkish striker Serhat Akın a late winner - and hat-trick. It prompted coach Frank Vercauteren to conclude that anything less than three points at home was a disappointment.

Cruel competition
However, in the UEFA Champions League, a point of any description would be highly prized. After the Liverpool FC defeat on 19 October, Vercauteren said: "We lost 1-0 for a third time [in three Matchdays]. And once again we were in the match throughout, with a chance of taking something from the game. We deserved more. All we need is a bit of luck."

Goalscoring drought
Luck and a goal. Anderlecht are one of only three teams without a group-stage strike to their name, along with LOSC Lille Métropole and SK Rapid Wien. That statistic is something they know they must correct if they are to profit from the return game against Liverpool at Anfield next week.

Pivotal difference
"Not being able to take chances is the big difference between us and the top European clubs," admitted captain Pär Zetterberg. "Against Liverpool, just as against Real Betis [Balompié], we had the first opportunity and if Bart Goor had scored it would have been a different game. We're all very disappointed."

Philosophical attitude
"We simply have to start converting our chances," added goalkeeper Silvio Proto, who has conceded just four goals in this season's UEFA Champions League since Anderlecht joined the competition in the second qualifying round. "But it does us no good to beat ourselves up about it. Defeat and disappointment are part of life."

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