Vercauteren focuses on first

Franky Vercauteren is certain to feel a twinge of emotion as his RSC Anderlecht team take on LOSC Lille Métropole in their UEFA Champions League Group H opener on Wednesday.

Nantes nostalgia
The 49-year-old knows French football well after three years playing for FC Nantes Atlantique, and is relishing the prospect of facing Claude Puel's relative newcomers. "I'm very happy to be reunited with France again," he said. "It's a country that gave me a lot, even though I wasn't there for long, and I'm really looking forward to the game."

Stern challenge
He is wary of taking the northerners lightly though, with many billing the 28-time Belgian champions as favourites against the side from just 92km down the road. "Lille are solid, disciplined and possess good individual players who work for each other," he warned. "It is true they're not Real Madrid [CF] or Chelsea [FC], but their results in the last couple of years prove what they can do."

New level
Results have mostly gone Anderlecht's way of late, although they lost their status as league leaders after drawing 1-1 at R. Excelsior Mouscron on Saturday. Despite that, and failing to progress beyond the UEFA Champions League group stage in their last three attempts, the coach believes his players should target winning a pool that also includes AC Milan and AEK Athens FC. He said: "I'm definitely not thinking about finishing second behind Milan. When you take part in something you want to come first."

Frutos doubtful
Vercauteren also has reason for cheer on the personnel front, with centre-back Jelle Van Damme back from an ankle problem and playmaker Ahmed Hassan available after missing the Mouscron trip. However, midfielder Sébastien Siani has an injured knee while striker Nicolas Frutos lacks fitness, which means Mohamed Tchite - scorer of six goals in five league games this term - looks likely to operate alone up front.

Odemwingie menace
At the other end of the pitch, Peter Odemwingie will spearhead a 4-2-3-1 formation. The Nigerian international, an unsuccessful triallist with Anderlecht in 2002, struck in Lille's 1-1 weekend draw at Nantes and Puel will look to him to improve on their scoring record among the European élite. Appearing for a second straight campaign, Lille registered just once in six outings last time out. "We hope we'll be stronger than last term and we're focused, but the only truth is the truth on the pitch," he said.

Losing start
Above all, the club lying third in Ligue 1 will want to improve on their start to the 2005/06 edition, a 1-0 loss at SL Benfica. "Beginning with an away match is never easy, as we found out last year, but we'll do what we can to get a result," added the Lille coach. "Our teams are at the same level so the difference could come down to a set-piece, superior experience or whichever side is fresher."

Probable teams
Lille: Tony Sylva; Matthieu Chalmé, Efstathios Tavlaridis, Rafael Schmitz, Grégory Tafforeau; Jean Makoun, Stéphane Dumont; Kader Keita, Mathieu Bodmer, Stephan Lichtsteiner; Peter Odemwingie.

Anderlecht: Daniel Zítka; Anthony Vanden Borre, Nicolas Pareja, Jelle Van Damme, Olivier Deschacht; Lucas Biglia, Yves Vanderhaeghe; Ahmed Hassan, Mbark Boussoufa, Bart Goor; Mohamed Tchite.