Club Brugge host Aston Villa in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League.
Club Brugge overcame Atalanta in their knockout play-off tie to qualify for this stage, whilst Villa finished eighth in the league phase to secure their passage to the last 16.
Team News
Raphael Onyedika is a doubt for Club Brugge after he missed their domestic draw against Gent with a muscle injury.
Bjorn Meier is very unlikely to be available for selection after a month out with a leg injury.
Villa could welcome Donyell Malen (illness), Ross Barkley (calf) and Tyrone Mings (knee) back into contention after the trio missed their FA Cup win over Cardiff.
Matty Cash (knock) is a doubt but Amadou Onana (thigh) and Pau Torres (metatarsal) remain sidelined,
When is Kick-Off?
Club Brugge meet Aston Villa at Jan Breydel Stadium on Tuesday 4 March at 6:45pm CET (5:45pm UK Time), live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Club Brugge won their only previous Champions League meeting against Aston Villa by 1-0 result in November 2024.
- Villa lost their only previous visit to Club Brugge which came in the league phase of this season’s competition.
- Ferran Jutgla scored in each of Club Brugge’s last two Champions League matches (W2), as the Belgian side stunned Atalanta in the knockout play-offs.
- Villa lost two of their four away games in the league phase by 1-0 results, whilst they scored three goals in each of the other two as they won 3-0 at Young Boys and 3-2 at RB Leipzig respectively.
Prediction
Having produced two ruthless displays to stun Atalanta in the last round and already beaten Villa this season, Club Brugge have a lot of reasons to feel confident that they can seize the initiative of this tie in their home leg if continue to play like they did in November’s meeting.
Villa don’t have consistent away form but with loanees – Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford having added experience plus firepower in recent weeks, I do expect them to bring more fight and intensity than they did on their last trip where they were simply wasteful with their chances.
Club Brugge however have lost just three home games in all competitions this season but Villa this time should really get the tie back to Villa Park in the balance.
Prediction: Club Brugge 1-1 Aston Villa
