Tottenham face Anderlecht in the Europa League at White Hart Lane on Thursday so we caught up with the best Anderlecht account on Twitter @Sporting_AND to discuss their season so far what we can expect from them on Thursday and the all important question….Who is Okaka?
1. How is Anderlecht’s season going so far?
We’ve had a difficult start to the season after losing two key players (Mitrović & Mbemba). The Anderlecht fans expect positive and good football, but we lacked flair and some games were really boring, that’s considered as a crime in Brussels. We rather lose and play good football than win and play dreadful. The Qarabag game was a huge disappointment (we lost 1-0). But things went better after that, we trashed Zulte Waregem 0-4, then we beat Spurs and Bruges. Probably our best 3 games of the season.
2. Which of the Anderlecht players should we look out for?
Last weekend was a huge blow for us, we won 2-0 (vs Mouscron-Péruwelz, dreadful game) but our left-back, Ivan Obradović, suffered an ACL in his right knee, really sad for him because he was just becoming a key player. Dennis Praet picked up a gluteal muscle injury during the warm-up and is sidelined for several weeks. We are a different side without Praet, he’s the man with the ideas. Creativity is a major shortcoming for us without him.
3.What can we expect from your Anderlecht side on Thursday?
Honestly, I don’t expect much from us. Acheampong is expected to start at left-back and Suárez is set to replace Praet. The Argentine striker/midfielder is struggling to find form after some knee injuries, he’s a player without confidence, it’s really sad to see him like that. Losing two key players is huge blow for the squad; it will be interesting to see how we cope with that, a draw would be a miracle.
4. Which of our players impressed you most when the sides met in October?
Spurs failed to impress when we played them, their first 15 minutes were impressive but after that we got a foothold in the game. Dembele made the best impression but Kane started scoring again and that’s bad news for us.
5. Who is the best player to play or have played for Anderlecht in recent seasons?
It’s hard to name our best players in recent years, but Lucas Biglia was/is one of my favorites. He was really underestimated when he played here since he played the World Cup final people started to appreciate him. Lukaku, Praet, Tielemans deserve a mention too, all academy products, made in Brussels.
6. Our writer Ross wants to know who is Okaka? And what can you tell us about him?
Okaka is a beast. He’s calling the shots up front. Fans were skeptical when we signed him, but he has averaged more goals than Mitrović so far and he’s a real team player. We signed him from Sampdoria and he is really feeling well here. His stats say it all, this is his best season so far and we’re not even half way through the season. Really impressive. We don’t miss Mitrovic, Okaka is a more complete forward than him. Same story for Mbemba, Kara is a tank. I don’t think that he’s a better player than Mbemba, but Kara (Mbodji) has done a pretty good job so far.
On behalf of everyone at Read Tottenham I would like to thank @Sporting_AND and wish them well for the remainder of the season, after Thursday of course.
