Anderlecht need to improve against perfect Paris

RSC Anderlecht will aim to avoid another heavy home defeat as Group B's early pacesetters Paris Saint-Germain come to Belgium looking for their third win in the section.

• While Unai Emery's Paris are three points clear in the standings having won both their games so far, Anderlecht are still looking for their first point and goal.

Previous meetings
• The teams' last fixture in Brussels brought Anderlecht's joint biggest European home defeat and Paris' joint biggest away victory. Zlatan Ibrahimović scored four times in Paris' 5-0 victory, with Edinson Cavani getting the other.

• The teams at the Constant Vanden Stock on 23 October 2013 were:
Anderlecht: Kaminski, Gillet, Mbemba, Nuytinck, N'Sakala, Praet (Milivojević 72), Kouyaté, Kljestan, Suárez (Acheampong 46), Tielemans, Mitrović (Cyriac 72).
Paris: Sirigu, Van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Alex (Camara 56), Maxwell, Motta, Matuidi (Rabiot 64), Verratti, Lavezzi (Lucas 71), Cavani, Ibrahimović.

• Ibrahimović also got the Paris goal in a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes on 5 November 2013; Demy De Zeeuw had given Anderlecht the lead, the visitors ending with ten men after Sacha Kljestan collected a second yellow card in the 82nd minute.

• The game in Belgium was the first meeting between the teams for 21 years. They played out two draws when facing each other in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup third round, a 0-0 stalemate in Paris and 1-1 result in Brussels taking Paris through on away goals.

Match background

Anderlecht
• The Belgian champions have lost each of their Group B matches 3-0, away to FC Bayern München on matchday one and then against Celtic FC in Brussels last time out.

• Anderlecht have won just one of their last eight home games in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, although that 2-0 success against Galatasaray AŞ in November 2014, their last fixture in the competition in Brussels before the Celtic match, did end a six-match home losing run.

• The Celtic defeat was Anderlecht's second in their last eight home matches in European competition (W5 D1), the Brussels side also going down 3-2 against AS Saint-Étienne on matchday six of last season's UEFA Europa League.

• Anderlecht also drew 1-1 at St-Étienne last season. Overall their record against French clubs is W7 D10 L5; at home it is W4 D4 L3.

• The Belgian club are without a win in their last four fixtures at home to Ligue 1 visitors (D1 L3), since a 2-1 UEFA Cup defeat of FC Girondins de Bordeaux in February 2008.

• In 2016/17, Anderlecht crashed out to FC Rostov in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Moving into the UEFA Europa League, they went all the way to the last eight – their first European quarter-final since losing to FC Internazionale Milano in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup – eventually bowing out to Manchester United FC (1-1 home, 1-2 away aet).

• Anderlecht are appearing in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 12th time in total. They qualified automatically after landing a 34th Belgian title last term.

Paris
• Paris have lost only one of their eight games against Belgian opponents, going down 3-0 at KSV Waterschei in the 1982/83 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final second leg (2-3 aggregate).

• The 2013 victory at Anderlecht is Paris' only away success against a Belgian club (D2 L1).

• Paris earned their biggest ever European win against Belgian opponents, defeating KAA Gent 7-1 at home in a 2001 Intertoto Cup semi-final after a 0-0 draw away.

• Having won 5-0 at Celtic on matchday one, Paris were 3-0 victors at home to Bayern in their last outing.

• The Parisians have won six of their last ten away fixtures in the competition, losing three. Matchday one was their first clean sheet in seven away matches.

• Emery's charges won at PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (3-1) and FC Basel 1893 (2-1) in last year's group stage, also drawing at Arsenal FC (2-2).

• Quarter-finalists in four successive seasons between 2013 and 2016, Paris were on the wrong end of the biggest comeback in UEFA Champions League history in last term's round of 16. Having won 4-0 at home to FC Barcelona, the French outfit succumbed 6-1 in the away leg to bow out – with Neymar, now of Paris, providing two Barça goals and an assist.

Coach and player links
• Paris' Belgian international defender Thomas Meunier was born in Sainte-Ode and played for third division side R.E. Virton before joining Club Brugge KV in 2011. Meunier made 149 league appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and winning the 2015 Belgian Cup – with a 2-1 final win against Anderlecht – adding a league title the following season before moving to Paris.

• Anderlecht captain Sofiane Hanni was born in Ivry-sur-Seine, about 6km from the centre of Paris. Dennis Appiah (Toulouse) and Adrien Trebel (Dreux) were also born in France.

• Have played together:
Dennis Appiah & Layvin Kurzawa (AS Monaco FC, 2010–13)

• Have played in France:
Uroš Spajić (Toulouse FC, 2013–16)
Dennis Appiah (AS Monaco FC, 2011–13; SM Caen, 2013–16)
Sofiane Hanni (FC Nantes, 2009–11)
Adrien Trebel (FC Nantes, 2011–14)
Robert Berić (Saint-Etienne 2015–17)

• International team-mates:
Leander Dendoncker & Thomas Meunier (Belgium)

Match facts

Anderlecht
• Sven Kums is available after serving a one-game ban on matchday two.

• Anderlecht, under the caretaker guidance of Nicolás Frutos, returned to domestic action after losing to Celtic by defeating R. Standard Liège 1-0 at home on 1 October.

• Former KAA Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck was appointed two days later, signing a contract until the summer of 2020. On Friday, Anderlecht won 4-3 at Mechelen in Vanhaezebrouck's first game in charge.

Paris
• Paris have scored five goals or more in a game on four occasions this season, most recently beating FC Girondins de Bordeaux 6-2 on 30 September.

• Cavani has registered 11 goals in as many club outings this term. Neymar has eight in nine for Paris.

• Paris's six successive victories at the beginning of the Ligue 1 season was the best start to a French top-flight campaign since Olympique de Marseille (6/6) in 2012/13. Olympique Lillois (8/8) set the record in 1936/37.

• Thiago Silva was substituted with a thigh injury during Brazil's 0-0 draw against Bolivia on 6 October and was not involved in Saturday's 2-1 league win at Dijon.

• Ángel Di María (Argentina), Cavani (Uruguay), Julian Draxler (Germany), Kylian Mbappé (France) and Adrien Rabiot (France) played during the international break as their teams qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

• A goal and an assist from Meunier helped already-qualified Belgium to a 4-3 victory in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 7 October.

• Substituted after 72 minutes against Northern Ireland on 5 October, Draxler missed Germany's European Qualifier against Azerbaijan three days later because of flu.

• Cavani was on the scoresheet in Uruguay's 4-2 qualification-sealing win against Bolivia on 10 October.

• Neymar is among the final three nominees for the Best FIFA Men's Player 2017. The winner will be announced on 23 October.

• Cavani, Mbappé and Neymar are on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The winner will be announced in December.