Anderlecht come into this one with a spring in their step after a hard-fought 2-1 home win over RAAL La Louvière in their most recent outing. That result, secured at the iconic Lotto Park, shows they can grind out results even when the opposition make it ugly. The Purple & White are the giants of Belgian football — 34 domestic titles, five European trophies — and they know how to start a campaign with intent. They will smell blood against a Waasland-Beveren side that, frankly, we know next to nothing about from the research. No recent results, no stadium, no coach, no formation — a blank page. That silence is telling. It suggests a club in flux, perhaps a lower-division outfit or a newly promoted side struggling to establish themselves. Anderlecht, by contrast, are a settled top-flight force, and their momentum from that recent victory should carry them through.

Waasland-Beveren, for their part, are a mystery wrapped in a riddle. Without any data on their recent form, we have to lean on the broader picture: they are not a name that strikes fear into Anderlecht. Historically, they have been a yo-yo club, often fighting at the bottom end of the Belgian top flight or in the second tier. If they are hosting this match at their own ground — likely the Freethiel Stadion — they will be hoping for a fortress effect, but there is no evidence in the brief to suggest they are in any kind of groove. Anderlecht, meanwhile, are used to winning away from home, especially against lesser opposition. The momentum is one-sided, and that is exactly why the double chance on the away side makes sense.