Waasland-Beveren vs RSC Anderlecht: match statistics

RSC Anderlecht sit 6th, while Waasland-Beveren are 14th, and the visitors won the only league meeting between the teams so far, 2:1. In their last five matches, Anderlecht have scored 8 goals and collected 10 points through 3 wins and a draw, compared with the hosts’ 7 goals and 9 points. However, Waasland-Beveren lost their only match played so far this season, conceding 2 goals, while Anderlecht have conceded just 1. Both teams have allowed 8 goals in their last five matches, so the visitors’ defence does not offer complete guarantees, but their higher league position and slightly more effective recent run favour an Anderlecht win. Home advantage lowers confidence in the selection, making a draw a realistic alternative.

The latest form clearly supports goals at both ends: Waasland-Beveren and RSC Anderlecht recorded BTTS in 80% of their last five matches. During this period, the hosts scored an average of 1.4 goals and conceded 1.6, while the visitors scored 1.6 goals and conceded the same average of 1.6. Their attacking potential is further confirmed by xG figures of 1.22 for Waasland-Beveren and 1.61 for Anderlecht, while both teams also allowed opponents to register xG above 1.40. An additional argument is the league-wide BTTS rate of as high as 78%, which favours a scenario in which each team scores at least once.

Data from the last five matches points to an open game: Waasland-Beveren averaged 1.4 goals scored and 1.6 conceded, while Anderlecht averaged 1.6 and 1.6, respectively. Both teams recorded over 2.5 goals in a combined 7 of their last 10 matches, while both teams scored in 80% of each side’s games. The average xG over the last five appearances stands at 1.22 for the home side and 1.61 for the visitors, with xG against at 1.41 and 1.49, respectively, supporting a forecast of around 3.03 goals. In addition, the league averages 3.33 goals per match, and 78% of its games exceed the 2.5 line. The strongest selection remains Over 1.5 goals, as even with more conservative finishing, the data for both teams clearly points to at least two goals.

The strongest signal points to a draw at half-time and a Waasland-Beveren win at full-time: the hosts were level at the break in 67% of their last five matches and did not trail at half-time on any occasion. In their only home match so far, they kept a clean sheet before the break and scored an average of 2 goals after half-time, winning the second halves. In their last five matches, Anderlecht conceded an average of 1.0 goals before half-time while scoring just 0.4, and went into the interval behind in 40% of those games. The hosts also have the higher xG in the available home data—3.34 compared with just 0.68 xG allowed to opponents—so a turnaround after an evenly contested first half is the most likely outcome: X/1.