Aston Villa have the sole intention of maintaining their 100% start to the league phase of the new Champions League format when they take on Club Brugge on Wednesday.
It’s been a memorable start to Villa’s continental campaign, with an unforgettable triumph over Bayern Munich on Matchday 2 complementing professional victories over Young Boys and Bologna.
Unai Emery’s Villans next take on a Brugge side that sit second in the Belgian Pro League but 26th in the league phase table having been beaten by Borussia Dortmund and Milan. Their sole victory arrived against Austrian champions Sturm Graz away from home.
The hosts head into Wednesday’s bout off the back of a three-game winning run, while Villa have lost two on the bounce. After exiting the Carabao Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace last week, Villa were put to the sword by a rampant Tottenham Hotspur in the second half on Sunday, eventually losing 4-1 despite taking a first-half lead.
Here’s 90min’s guide to Aston Villa‘s Champions League clash on Wednesday evening.
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa H2H Record
This is the first competitive meeting between Club Brugge and Aston Villa.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Club Brugge |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Oud-Heverlee Leuven 0-1 Club Brugge – 02/11/24 |
Tottenham 4-1 Aston Villa – 03/11/24 |
|
Club Brugge 6-1 Belisia Bilzen – 30/10/24 |
Aston Villa 1-2 Crystal Palace – 30/10/24 |
|
Club Brugge 2-1 Anderlecht – 27/10/24 |
Aston Villa 1-1 Bournemouth – 26/10/24 |
|
Milan 3-1 Club Brugge – 22/10/24 |
Aston Villa 2-0 Bologna – 22/10/24 |
|
Westerlo 1-2 Club Brugge – 19/10/24 |
Fulham 1-3 Aston Villa – 19/10/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
discovery+, discovery+ App, TNT Sports 2 |
|
United States |
Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com, Univision NOW, TUDN App, TUDN USA, UniMás |
|
Canada |
DAZN |
Gustaf Nilsson recently returned from a calf injury, but there are doubts over his status for Wednesday’s game after he missed Brugge’s win over Leuven on Saturday. If the Swede isn’t fit to feature against Villa, 20-year-old forward Romeo Vermant should get the nod up top.
Midfielder Raphael Onyedika received his marching orders in the defeat to Milan so is suspended here. Former Bodo/Glimt star Hugo Vetlesen is poised to start in the Nigerian’s absence.
Andreas Skov Olsen and stalwart Hans Vanaken are Brugge’s chief threats going forward, while Maxim De Cuyper is one to watch at full-back.
Club Brugge predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Vetlesen; Skov Olsen, Vanaken, Tzolis; Vermant.
Morgan Rogers was poleaxed by Cristian Romero on Sunday and subsequently withdrawn, but the Villa attacker didn’t seem too bothered by the knock he sustained and should be available on Wednesday.
Matty Cash also succumbed to injury at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and is less likely to feature. His absence will almost certainly draw Ezri Konsa away from the centre of Villa’s backline and allow Diego Carlos to come in.
Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings are in contention for starts, but Emery cannot call upon Ross Barkley until after the international break due to injury.
Jhon Duran, who scored in Villa’s previous two Champions League outings, will be hoping for a starting berth over Ollie Watkins up top.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Club Brugge (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey; Duran.
Convincing defeats to Dortmund and Milan have been harsh on Brugge, who have shown competence in this competition thus far and will test the visitors on Wednesday.
Emery’s ideals have so far worked a treat for the Villans under the lights, and the Spaniard shouldn’t be too downbeat despite the manner in which his team collapsed on Sunday.
While Villa’s defence is always better with Konsa at the heart of it, the visitors should have plenty of joy against a Brugge side that typically concedes two or more in Champions League outings. Milan and Dortmund have capitalised on a defence that can look outmatched at this level, and we’ve got to expect Villa’s attacking force to enjoy themselves here.
