Who are they? Founded in 1908, Anderlecht play their football at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels, which first opened in 1983 and holds 21,845 fans for European matches. But the club are in the process of switching to a bigger home and are due to move to the 60,000-capacity Eurostadium, which will also be the home of the Belgium national team and host fixtures at Euro 2020, when construction work is completed in 2019. Anderlecht are the most successful Belgian club in history, with more European trophies (five) and Belgian top-flight title wins (33) than any other team. Their full name is Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht and their nickname is the 'Purple and Whites', which reflects the colours of the club's traditional home kit.

How did they get here? Anderlecht's European journey this season began as early as July in the Champions League but there was disappointment at the first hurdle as FC Rostov, whom the Reds beat last month to reach the last eight of the Europa League, claimed a 4-2 win over two legs in the third qualifying round tie. It meant the Belgians dropped into the secondary European competition and faced a play-off tie against Czech side Slavia Prague, which they easily navigated with a 6-0 aggregate win to reach the group stages. In Group C, they were pitted against German outfit Mainz 05, Gabala FC of Azerbaijan and French side Saint-Etienne, the latter of whom the Reds knocked out in the Round of 32 stage of the competition. Anderlecht progressed to the knockout stages in second place with a respectable record of 11 points from six games – winning three, drawing two and losing just once. They looked to be heading out in the Round of 16 after Russian outfit Zenit Saint Petersburg overturned a 2-0 first-leg defeat to lead 3-0 in the second leg, before a dramatic late header from Kiese Thelin took Anderlecht through on away goals. Apoel Nicosia of Cyprus presented a tough challenge in the last round but two 1-0 wins saw the Belgians advance to their first European quarter-final in 20 years.

Current form :After narrowly finishing top of the newly-named Belgian First Division A in the regular league season, two points ahead of fierce rivals Club Brugge, Anderlecht have begun the Championship play-offs campaign, where the top six teams in the division play each other twice to determine who will qualify for next season’s Champions League and Europa League respectively. They've got off to a good start with four points from the first two games, a 2-1 win away at Zulte Waregem followed by a goalless draw at home to Gent last weekend. They have also fared well on home soil in Europe in recent months, winning five of their last six games.

Who's their boss? Anderlecht’s manager is Rene Weiler, who is in his first season in charge after replacing Albanian coach Besnik Hasi last summer. The 43-year-old spent his first two years of coaching with German second-tier outfit FC Nurnberg before arriving in Belgium. The former defender, who was capped once by Switzerland, established his reputation in his home country with Schaffhausen and Aarau.

What's their record like against English teams? It would be fair to say Anderlecht have a mixed record historically when it comes to facing opponents from England in Europe. The aforementioned demolition by the Reds aside, the Belgians have only won seven of their 32 games against English teams, drawing five and losing 20. They have also never tasted victory on English soil on 15 previous trips – including, most recently, a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the Europa League group stages last season, having won by the same scoreline at home. However, Anderlecht have faced English opponents three times in major finals and achieved one notable triumph in their home city of Brussels, beating West Ham United 4-2 in a thrilling contest at Heysel Stadium. The others ended in disappointment: a 4-3 defeat by Arsenal over two legs in their first ever European final in 1970 and an agonising loss on penalties against Spurs in the 1984 UEFA Cup showpiece, following a 2-2 draw.

Have they faced the Reds before? Well, Anderlecht were the opposition on a landmark occasion for the Reds in our first-ever European game back in September 1956, as goals in either half from Dennis Viollet and Tommy Taylor gave Matt Busby's team a 2-0 win in front of 35,000 fans at the former Emile Verse Stadium. The second leg of the preliminary round tie, however, was a memorable experience which went down in history as a rampant United annihilated the Belgians with a 10-0 win at Manchester City's former Maine Road ground, which remains the Reds' biggest competitive victory to date, to storm into the first-round proper of the European Cup.