If Anderlecht win their home match against Antwerp on Thursday, the Purple & White will be in third place in the Champions’ play-off for sure. The gap with Antwerp is then 6 points with two more matches to play, but Antwerp received half a point at the start of the play-offs because it is rounded up.
If Vincent Kompany pushes his players to third place, he will do one place better than last year when Anderlecht could not win a single match in the play-offs and finished fourth.
And yet a better place in the Anderlecht stand would yield the same European ticket: an entrance ticket for the third qualifying round of the Conference League.
Actually, there is nothing special this year. According to the rules, third place in the Champions’ Play-off entitles you to that third qualifying round of the Conference League.
Last season was an “exception” because Racing Genk also finished second in the standings as cup winner. That second place improved its European ticket as cup winner. The cup winner may go to the last preliminary round of the Europa League, but Genk was the second to participate in the penultimate preliminary round for the Champions League.
The ticket of the cup winner (Genk) went exceptionally last season to the number three in the stand: Antwerp. Anderlecht was the fourth to receive the ticket that was “normal” for the third in the standings.
This year, AA Gent is the proud cup winner, but Ghent can no longer improve through the play-offs and so nothing moves in the ticket distribution.
Whoever finishes third (Anderlecht or Antwerp) starts in the third (and penultimate) round of the Conference League.
Whoever finishes fourth will play against the winner of the Europe play-off for a ticket for the second heat of the Conference League, unless AA Gent wins the Europe play-off, then no jump-off match is necessary, because Ghent is already certain of European football as cup winner.
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