Anderlecht vs Sheriff: Europa Conference League Prediction (07.08.2025)

On August 7, 2025, at 20:00 CET, the first leg of the Europa Conference League qualification semi-finals will be played between Anderlecht and Sheriff. The hosts are considered one of the strongest teams in the current bracket, so it is not surprising that the Belgian club are clear favourites. According to the odds, their chances of winning are estimated at around 76%, while the visitors are given only about 7%. The odds to progress to the next round are even more one-sided — 1.16 versus 5.25. Let’s see if things are really that clear-cut and provide our prediction for the match.

Anderlecht

In recent years, the level of competition in the Belgian league has grown rapidly, and the record champions have not managed to win the title since 2017. Last season, the club finished only in fourth place. This year, they will try to put things right. So far, Anderlecht are the only team to have won both of their opening two league matches.

The “Purple and Whites” started their European campaign in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. The first leg went well — Anderlecht edged Swedish side Häcken 1–0 at home. But in the return match, they failed to protect the aggregate advantage, conceding a penalty in the 90+2 minute to take the game to extra time (1–2). In the end, Anderlecht lost in the penalty shoot-out.

Sheriff

The Moldovan champions only managed to end a run of five winless matches in their most recent domestic league game — which also included their first home defeat in league play since March 2022.

The “Yellow-Blacks” have already played four European matches this season. They started in the first qualifying round of the Europa League. The first tie against Pristina was successful — a 4–0 home win followed by a narrow 1–2 away defeat. But facing stronger opposition in Utrecht proved too much — two defeats with an aggregate score of 2–7 (1–3 at home and 1–4 away) forced Sheriff to drop into the Conference League qualifiers.

Stats and Head-to-Head Record

The teams have met only once before — in 2021 in the Champions League qualifying semi-finals. Anderlecht won convincingly, beating Sheriff 4–0 at home and 2–1 away.

Prediction

In the Anderlecht – Sheriff match, the obvious prediction is in favour of the hosts. The difference in league standards is clear. Anderlecht have more experience at this level, while Sheriff will be facing arguably their toughest opponent in recent times. In this situation, betting on a goal to be scored between the 1st and 15th minute at odds of 2.83 could be an interesting option