Deschacht talks up Anderlecht's chances

On the face of it, RSC Anderlecht have an uphill task to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Hamburger SV. But with memories of an emphatic home win in their last UEFA Europa League decider still fresh, captain Olivier Deschacht is optimistic of upsetting the odds.

A quarter-final place is on offer when Anderlecht welcome Hamburg to the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, and Deschacht hopes to both inspire and feed off the home support. "We need to score in the first half and then the stadium will explode – that will give us a great chance," the 29-year-old defender said. "We are combative and will have to give 100%. We believe we can still do it."

Anderlecht beat Spain's Athletic Club 4-0 in their last European home game to prevail 5-1 on aggregate, so Ariël Jacobs' team have proved their ruthless streak. However, that killer touch deserted them in northern Germany and Deschacht warns his side to be more clinical in Brussels. "It's good for the confidence [to create opportunities] but if you don't score – you can make 20 chances – it doesn't matter. We didn't, they did and that's football."

Anderlecht's away strike in Hamburg came from arguably their hardest opportunity, with Jonathan Legear curling in a sublime 30-metre free-kick for his sixth goal of the UEFA Europa League campaign. While the scorer was happy that his team-mates "rose to the occasion" in the first leg, his main concern for the return is staying focused at the other end of the pitch. "We have to play with the same mentality we showed in Hamburg, but cannot afford to concede any more silly goals."

For now, HSV look well-placed to take another step towards the first UEFA Europa League final, to be played at their Hamburg Arena in May. Although they lost an away goal (and gained new-found respect for their Belgian opponents), Hamburg striker Mladen Petrić is confident of annulling what is currently only a minor disadvantage on Thursday evening. "We were warned by the 4-0 result against Bilbao, but we have shown we can hurt their defence," said the Croatian international. "I think we can cause damage over there."

Anderlecht, certainly, will need to register at least twice to progress to their first European quarter-final since 1997 – because, as visiting captain David Jarolím underlined, HSV "are a side that always seem to score away from home".