Anderlecht in need of first win against Benfica

The two teams with most to do in Group C meet in Brussels on matchday five with RSC Anderlecht needing to turn round SL Benfica's 2-0 victory in Lisbon.

• That win came via goals from Filip Djuričić and captain Luisão. Anderlecht then lost to Olympiacos FC (0-3) and Paris Saint-Germain (0-5) but gained their first point on matchday four with a 1-1 draw in France. Benfica lost 3-0 to Paris on matchday two but took only one point from two fixtures with Olympiacos to leave them on four points, three behind the Greek club and six adrift of PSG.

• Anderlecht therefore need to win both matches to have any chance of finishing second, while a point in Brussels would guarantee Benfica at least third place.

Previous meetings
• The 17 September fixture was the first between the teams since the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round when Anderlecht had the upper hand, as they did in the biggest game between the sides – the 1983 UEFA Cup final.

• On that occasion Anderlecht defended their 1-0 home win with a 1-1 draw in Lisbon. Benfica assistant coach Minervino Pietra and the club's technical secretary Shéu Han both played in that final.

• Nine years ago Anderlecht won 3-0 in Brussels after losing the away leg 1-0, Aruna Dindane scoring twice before Nenad Jestrović added a penalty. Olivier Deschacht, Anthony Vanden Borre and Anderlecht assistant coach Besnik Hasi all played in the games, as did Luisão.

• The teams at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium on 24 August 2004 were:
Anderlecht: Zítka, Deschacht, Żewłakow, Kompany, Jestrović (Yashchuk 80), Baseggio, Hasi, Wilhelmsson, Dindane (Vanden Borre 90), Traoré, Mpenza (Seol 90).
Benfica: Quim, Argel, Almeida (Rocha 76), Petit, Carlitos (Geovanni 60), Luisão, Simão, Fernandes (Zahovič 66), Dos Santos, Miguel, Šokota.

• In the eight meetings prior to this season, each side posted three home wins and two draws (one home, one away). In the 1987/88 European Cup quarter-finals Benfica's 2-0 home win saw them through despite a 1-0 reverse in the return.

• Anderlecht have a solid record at home to Portuguese visitors. Apart from their record against Benfica – they have conceded only one goal in the four fixtures – their five other home games have yielded four wins and a draw, with no goals against.

• In nine games against other Belgian sides, Benfica have only succumbed once, winning six and drawing two. In Belgium their record is W3 D2 L4.

Match background
• In their tenth UEFA Champions League season, Anderlecht are hoping to improve on their last six campaigns. They finished bottom of Group C last season and suffered the same fate in five group stage campaigns since progressing to the second group stage in 2000/01.

• In those six seasons they have won just four fixtures and when they beat FC Zenit 1-0 on matchday four last year it was their first home success in the UEFA Champions League proper for nine years.

• In 2012/13, when Anderlecht returned to the competition proper after four qualifying failures, the Belgian champions lost their two other home games, against AC Milan and Málaga CF.

• Benfica, in their ninth participation, finished third in their group last season. They began with a 0-0 draw away to Celtic FC and also lost 2-1 at FC Spartak Moskva and drew 0-0 at FC Barcelona.

• The Portuguese side, twice winners of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, subsequently entered the UEFA Europa League and first won away at Bayer 04 Leverkusen before a 3-2 victory in France against FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

• In the quarter-finals they drew 1-1 at Newcastle United FC for a 4-2 aggregate success and then made light of a 1-0 defeat at Fenerbahçe SK to win 3-1 at home in the semi-final second leg. They lost the final 2-1 to Chelsea FC in Amsterdam.

Team ties
• Lazar Marković and Aleksandar Mitrović are products of FK Partizan's youth system and team-mates in the Serbian national team.

• Stefan Mitrović played in Belgium for KV Kortrijk in 2012/13, although he did not play against Anderlecht.

• Miralem Sulejmani scored both goals in AFC Ajax's 2-0 win against Anderlecht in a UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg tie at Amsterdam ArenA on 24 February 2011.