Anderlecht v Mainz background
Monday, October 24, 2016
Article summary
Anderlecht are unbeaten in five UEFA Europa League outings this season but can expect another tough encounter as Mainz make their first competitive trip to Belgium.
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Following a 1-1 draw on matchday three, Anderlecht and Mainz are locked together with St-Étienne on five points in UEFA Europa League Group C.
Previous meetings
• The sides met for the first time in UEFA competition on 20 October in what was Mainz's first competitive fixture against Belgian opponents.
• Anderlecht's record in 34 encounters with German clubs is now W12 D5 L17 (W7 D3 L5 in Brussels).
Form guide
• Anderlecht are unbeaten in five UEFA Europa League outings this season (W3 D2) and scored three goals in each of their previous two home fixtures.
• Mainz's only Group C win so far came on the road – 3-2 at Qabala on matchday two.
• Anderlecht have made it through all five previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
• Mainz are making their UEFA Europa League group stage debut.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Mainz to Brussels is around 300km.
• Mainz defender André and Anderlecht winger Massimo Bruno were team-mates at Salzburg from 2014–15.
The coaches
• Capped once by Switzerland, René Weiler is in his first term as Anderlecht boss having spent his first two years of coaching abroad with Nürnberg in Germany from 2014–16. The one-time defender had established his coaching reputation in his home country with Schaffhausen and Aarau.
• Martin Schmidt guided Mainz to an impressive sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season, his first in command of the senior team. A lower-league player in his native Switzerland, he managed Mainz's reserves from 2010–15.
