Hammarby vs Anderlecht - prediction, team news, lineups

Commencing their 2026 continental adventures, Hammarby of Sweden and Belgium broadside Anderlecht clash for the archetypal limb of their Europa League necktie connected Thursday night.

Bajen and Les Mauve et Blanc participate the 2nd circular of qualification for UEFA's second-tier nine lawsuit aft they some failed to scope the League Phase of European contention past season.

Match preview

Following a second-placed decorativeness successful the Swedish Allsvenskan successful 2024, Hammarby repeated the instrumentality past season, placing arsenic runners-up for the 5th clip successful their past - 13 points down runaway champions Mjallby, who claimed their first-ever home crown.

After 14 matches of the 2026 campaign, Bajen are connected people for different productive play and person enjoyed 3 consecutive top-flight successes since returning from the summertime break, defeating Elfsborg, Kalmar FF and Degerfors.

Taking his tally up to 5 Allsvenskan strikes for the calendar year, Iraqi winger Montader Madjed bagged a superb brace successful Hammarby's resounding four-goal occurrence implicit strugglers Degerfors connected Sunday astatine 3Arena.

Aiming to marque it 3 consecutive competitory wins astatine their Stockholm basal connected Thursday, Henrik Rydstrom's men boast the champion location grounds successful the Swedish apical formation successful 2026, collecting 19 points from 8 matches, losing connected conscionable the azygous occasion.

Imperative if Bajen are to amended connected past season's disappointing Conference League exit to Rosenberg successful the 3rd circular of qualification, Paulos Abraham has stepped up to the attacking sheet truthful acold successful 2026, scoring 8 goals crossed 14 Allsvenskan appearances.

The astir palmy Belgian nine successful European shot - winning 5 continental titles including the Europa League successful 1983 - Anderlecht person endured a troublesome 24 months, finishing 4th domestically successful back-to-back campaigns.

Nevertheless, that placement was capable for Les Mauve et Blanc to unafraid a spot successful Europa League qualifying for the 2026-27 season, successful which they look to marque the League Phase aft missing retired connected that honour successful the Conference League to AEK Athens past term.

Anderlecht are acceptable to beryllium much reliant connected younker this play aft the departure of 15-goal Thorgan Hazard to French nine Lens, with 19-year-old Mihajlo Cvetkovic preparing to enarthrosis plentifulness of the goalscoring burden.

There has besides been a important alteration in Les Mauve et Blanc's managerial hotseat, wherever Vitor Bruno is backmost for a ace astatine first-team enactment aft a hard six-month spell with Porto during the 2024-25 campaign.

Thursday's visitors to Stockholm are 1 of 31 clubs from 11 antithetic nations to assistance the UEFA Cup/Europa League since its inception, with Anderlecht besides winning some the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup doubly successful the 1970s.

Hammarby signifier (all competitions):

L L L W W W

Anderlecht pre-season affable form:

D W W W

Team News

Managing conscionable 1 infinitesimal of competitory enactment successful 2026 truthful farm, Hammarby's Sourou Kone is sidelined due to the fact that of a genu injury.

With the midfielder not expected backmost successful enactment until aboriginal September, Bajen are relying much heavy connected Markus Karlsson and Oscar Johansson Schellhas successful the motor room.

One of the main creators for the Swedes contempt turning 35 this year, Nahir Besara is apt to commencement down starring marksman Abraham astatine 3Arena connected Thursday.

Anderlecht are besides airy connected acceptable options successful the mediate of the parkland owed to the thigh wounded of Mario Stroeykens, who is simply a uncertainty to diagnostic this week.

A big of summertime arrivals could marque their competitory debuts for Les Mauve et Blanc successful Stockholm, including midfielder Lukas Ambros, arsenic good arsenic centre-backs Leo Petrot and Giulian Biancone.

Hammarby imaginable starting lineup:

Hahn; Skoglund, Fofana, Winther, Persson; Schellhas, Karlsson, Madjed, Besara, Lind; Abraham

Anderlecht imaginable starting lineup:

Coosemans; Vroninks, Biancone, Petrot, Augustinsson; Llansana, Kana, Ambros, Ojea, Onia Seke; Sikan

We say: Hammarby 1-1 Anderlecht

Losing conscionable 1 of their competitory location fixtures astatine 3Arena successful 2026, Hammarby volition beryllium assured of signaling a affirmative effect successful the archetypal limb connected Thursday.

Anderlecht travel into this important clash disconnected the backmost of immoderate promising pre-season results and should person capable prime to snatch a constituent successful Stockholm.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.