Former Anderlecht striker Tomasz Radzinski has told ESPN FC the Belgian side have little chance of getting past Manchester United in the Europa League quarterfinals after their 1-1 first-leg draw.
Radzinski, 43, scored twice as Anderlecht defeated United 2-1 in a Champions League game in October 2000 -- a result that helped his side top their group ahead of the English visitors.
That was the last time Anderlecht beat United but ex-Everton and Fulham forward Radzinski is not optimistic about the Belgian league leaders' chances of another win after watching United raise their game in the weekend victory over Premier League leaders Chelsea.
The Europa League tie is still in the balance after Leander Dendoncker's late equaliser for Anderlecht in last week's first leg in Brussels, but United will start Thursday's second game at Old Trafford with the advantage thanks to Henrikh Mkhitaryan's away goal.
"To be honest, I didn't really like the game at all," Radzinski told ESPN FC after attending last week's match in Belgium. "Both teams played very defensively. They think more about defending than attacking so this is not the way I like to see a football game.
"I think the result was a reflection of the way they tactically started the game. I don't think anybody should have won that game and 1-1 is just the right result, but after seeing Manchester playing against Chelsea, I think they stepped up the game tactically and mentally... so I think Manchester is going to be very hard to beat now on Thursday.
"I just don't think right now that Anderlecht is going to have much chance to progress to the next round.
"Plus, they still need to score a goal, which is going to be an advantage to Man United, so I just don't see it happening."
Anderlecht have never won in 15 trips to England and Radzinski's team were beaten 5-1 at Old Trafford before losing 2-1 at Leeds the same season as they narrowly missed out on a Champions League quarterfinal place.
However, this time around even a high-scoring draw would be enough for the 33-time Belgian champions to qualify for the semifinals on away goals.
Anderlecht's top scorer Lukasz Teodorczyk should start in Manchester after coming through their 1-0 win at Oostende on Sunday but Radzinski says the second leg will be "a big step up" for the visitors.
"If United score a goal early then the game is going to be over," the former Canada international said. "After the game here in Brussels, I thought it was a 60-40 chance for United to go through. But right now, after seeing the weekend game against Chelsea, I think they stepped up their game again.
"I think they're going to grow lots of confidence from that game and I just don't see Anderlecht beating United at Old Trafford."
Radzinski earned his move to the Premier League following his match-winning display against United, having been told years later that Sir Alex Ferguson recommended the forward to then-Everton manager Walter Smith.
Of this year's crop, both Dendoncker, 22, and fellow midfielder Youri Tielemans, 19, have been linked with a move to England. Dendoncker's bullet header to level the first leg caught the eye but Radzinski says Tielemans is best placed to move at the end of the season.
"Tielemans has been playing already for four years at the highest level at Anderlecht," Radzinski, who now works as an advisor to players at Atticus Sports Management, said.
"Since he's 16, he's been there and he's been one of the main players. It's not that he's somebody who's playing five, 10 games a season.
"He's got experience for a boy who's [almost] 20 years old -- I think he's got more than 150 games in the Belgian competition. He also has European experience... So I think he's definitely ready to move a step up.
"As for Dendoncker, this is only his second season [as a guaranteed starter]. I still saw him playing in the youth leagues when I was the managing director at Lierse [from 2013 to 2015].
"So I think he still has lots to learn and [needs to] grab the experience before he can move on to the higher competition."