Preview: Hammarby vs Anderlecht - prediction, team news, lineups

Commencing their 2026 continental adventures, Hammarby of Sweden and Belgium side Anderlecht clash for the first leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday night.

Bajen and Les Mauve et Blanc enter the second round of qualification for UEFA's second-tier club event after they both failed to reach the League Phase of European competition last season.

Match preview

Following a second-placed finish in the Swedish Allsvenskan in 2024, Hammarby repeated the trick last season, placing as runners-up for the fifth time in their history - 13 points behind runaway champions Mjallby, who claimed their first-ever domestic crown.

After 14 matches of the 2026 campaign, Bajen are on course for another productive season and have enjoyed three straight top-flight successes since returning from the summer break, defeating Elfsborg, Kalmar FF and Degerfors.

Taking his tally up to five Allsvenskan strikes for the calendar year, Iraqi winger Montader Madjed bagged a brilliant brace in Hammarby's resounding four-goal success over strugglers Degerfors on Sunday at 3Arena.

Aiming to make it three consecutive competitive wins at their Stockholm base on Thursday, Henrik Rydstrom's men boast the best home record in the Swedish top flight in 2026, collecting 19 points from eight matches, losing on just the single occasion.

Imperative if Bajen are to improve on last season's disappointing Conference League exit to Rosenberg in the third round of qualification, Paulos Abraham has stepped up to the attacking plate so far in 2026, scoring eight goals across 14 Allsvenskan appearances.

The most successful Belgian club in European football - winning five continental titles including the Europa League in 1983 - Anderlecht have endured a troublesome 24 months, finishing fourth domestically in back-to-back campaigns.

Nevertheless, that placement was enough for Les Mauve et Blanc to secure a spot in Europa League qualifying for the 2026-27 season, in which they look to make the League Phase after missing out on that honour in the Conference League to AEK Athens last term.

Anderlecht are set to be more reliant on youth this season after the departure of 15-goal Thorgan Hazard to French club Lens, with 19-year-old Mihajlo Cvetkovic preparing to shoulder plenty of the goalscoring burden.

There has also been a significant change in Les Mauve et Blanc's managerial hotseat, where Vitor Bruno is back for a crack at first-team leadership after a difficult six-month spell with Porto during the 2024-25 campaign.

Thursday's visitors to Stockholm are one of 31 clubs from 11 different nations to lift the UEFA Cup/Europa League since its inception, with Anderlecht also winning both the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice in the 1970s.

Hammarby form (all competitions):

L L L W W W

Anderlecht pre-season friendly form:

D W W W

Team News

Managing just one minute of competitive action in 2026 so farm, Hammarby's Sourou Kone is sidelined because of a knee injury.

With the midfielder not expected back in action until early September, Bajen are relying more heavily on Markus Karlsson and Oscar Johansson Schellhas in the engine room.

One of the chief creators for the Swedes despite turning 35 this year, Nahir Besara is likely to start behind leading marksman Abraham at 3Arena on Thursday.

Anderlecht are also light on fit options in the middle of the park due to the thigh injury of Mario Stroeykens, who is a doubt to feature this week.

A host of summer arrivals could make their competitive debuts for Les Mauve et Blanc in Stockholm, including midfielder Lukas Ambros, as well as centre-backs Leo Petrot and Giulian Biancone.

Hammarby possible starting lineup:

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

Anderlecht possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Hammarby 1-1 Anderlecht

Losing just one of their competitive home fixtures at 3Arena in 2026, Hammarby will be confident of recording a positive result in the first leg on Thursday.

Anderlecht come into this crucial clash off the back of some promising pre-season results and should have enough quality to snatch a point in Stockholm.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.