Everything You Need To Know About Manchester United U21’s vs Anderlecht | OneFootball

Manchester United’s U21S take on Anderlecht tonight in the Premier League International Cup, and Travis Binnion’s side will be looking to continue their impressive start. Tonight’s game is the first of two they’ll play in the competition before Christmas, with the second against Borussia Dortmund on the 19th of December at Old Trafford.

The 21s have already picked up a win in the competition this season back in September, when goals from James Scanlon and Gabriel Biancheri were enough on the night to gift the team three points against an impressive Athletic Bilbao side.

LEIGH, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: James Scanlon of Manchester United looks on during the The FA Youth Cup 5th Round match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village on February 12, 2025 in Leigh, England. (Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)

the opposition, form, danger men

Tonight’s visitors won their first game in the group against Sunderland back in October in an exciting 2-2 draw. The Belgian side, who are now more commonly known as RSCA Futures, play their football in the Challenger Pro League, the second division of Belgian Football, and are currently 14th in the table, collecting 12 points in 13 games.

Most commonly, RSCA deploy a 4-2-3-1 system, but have dropped into a back three at times this season, with a 5-4-1 system being seen too. They are unbeaten in the three games they played those systems, winning once and drawing 1-1 twice.

A danger man United will have to be wary of is Samuel Ntanda-Lukisa. The Congolese striker scored in the game against Sunderland, opening his account in the competition, and has been impressive for RSCA since Mijhalo Cvetovic has been promoted to the first team squad in the Jupiler Pro League. The former Sampdoria forward has four goals in 12 games this season, including one assist. Ntanda is the Belgian side’s top scorer in the league this season, level with Cvetovic, who has not been named in a squad since September.

Devon De Corte will also be someone else to keep a keen eye on. De Corte has the joint-most goal contributions combined this season for his side this season alongside Ntanda, and is a very impressive young midfielder, who is most comfortable operating in the number ten role. De Corte, along with Joshua Nga Kana, will be looking to hurt United if they get the chance tonight.

RSCA will also be boosted by the return of young French midfielder Enzo Sternal, who returned to the pitch following an ACL injury back in January upon signing for the club from Marseille. Sternal came off the bench against Seraing late last week.

mANCHESTER UNITED FORM, DANGER MEN

Gabe Biancheri and Chido Obi lead the goal-scoring charts for United this season in all competitions, with Biancheri scoring four goals and Chido netting three. In terms of the overall form of Travis Binnion’s side, they sit 2nd in the Premier League 2 at present, just behind league leaders Ipswich by one point. United do have a game in hand on the Tractor Boys, however.

With just one league defeat all season, Binnion’s side are not particularly used to losing. Last week’s game against Solihull Moors will have been a stark reminder of the harshness of football at times, but tonight presents an opportunity to bounce back from adversity, which has long since been a mantra instilled into the players at Carrington.

It will be interesting to see how many of the U18 group are given an opportunity tonight, given the opposition regularly play against players a lot older, given the context of their league. That’s unlikely to phase United, however, as they always like to test the players within the groups to see how they adapt to different environments, on different stages. Tonight is expected to be no different.

uNITED TEAM NEWS

For United, it’s unlikely Shea Lacey will be available for selection due to his commitments with the first team as of late, but Chido Obi will likely be in the squad, hoping to continue on his good form as of late. Gabriele Biancheri will be aiming to make it two from two after getting the aforementioned winner against Bilbao on the opening day, and United fans will be hoping they get a good showing at Leigh Sports Village before the memorable trip to Old Trafford in a fortnight.

Jacob Devaney is likely to captain the side again as he did last week against Solihull, while Bendito Mantato is expected to come back into the eleven after an impressive performance in United’s win against Liverpool at the weekend for the U18’s, in a game that ended 7-0.

It’s a competition Manchester United have never won. Nottingham Forest are the current champions, having beaten Lyon 5-4 on penalties in last year’s final. United have never even made it as far as the semi-final in the tournament, and will be looking to put that right this year, with a strong lineup expected to be named tonight.

United will need to finish in the top two of their group to qualify for the quarter-final, with all top two teams going through to the next round of the knockout stages. All ties will be single-legged.