Club Brugge vs Aston Villa: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Aston Villa are solely intent on maintaining their 100% start to the league stage of the new Champions League format when they take on Club Brugge on Wednesday.

It has been a memorable start to Villa’s continental campaign, with a unforgettable triumph over Bayern Munich on the second day complementing the professional victories against Young Boys and Bologna.

Unai Emery’s Villans will face a Bruges side who are second in the Belgian Pro League but 26th in the league stage standings after being beaten by Borussia Dortmund and Milan. Their only win came against Austrian champions Sturm Graz away from home.

The hosts go into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a three-game winning streak, while Villa have lost two on the bounce. After crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace last week, Villa were put to the sword by a rampage. Tottenham Hotspur Sunday in the second half, eventually losing 4-1 despite taking the lead in the first half.

here it is 90 minutes guide to Aston VillaChampions League match, 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)

Gustaf Nilsson recently returned from a calf injury but there are doubts over his fitness for Wednesday’s game after he missed Brugge’s win over Leuven on Saturday. If the Swede is not fit to play against Villa, 20-year-old striker Romeo Vermant should get the win.

Midfielder Raphael Onyedika was given his marching orders in the defeat to Milan, so he is suspended here. Former Bodo/Glimt star Hugo Vetlesen is set to start in the Nigerian’s absence.

Andreas Skov Olsen and stalwart Hans Vanaken are Brugge’s main threats going forward, while Maxim De Cuyper is one to watch at full-back.

Predicted line-up of Club Brugge against Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Seys, Ordóñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Vetlesen; Skov Olsen, Vanaken, Tzolis; vermant

Morgan Rogers was poleaxed by Cristian Romero on Sunday and subsequently taken off, but the Villa striker did not appear too bothered by the knock he took and should be available on Wednesday.

Matty Cash also succumbed injury at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and is less likely to feature. His absence will almost certainly push Ezri Konsa away from the center of Villa’s backline and allow Diego Carlos to slot in.

Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings will battle it out for the starts, but Emery cannot call on Ross Barkley until after the international injury break.

Jhon Duran, who scored in Villa’s previous two Champions League games, will hope for a starting place opposite Ollie Watkins.

Aston Villa expected line-up against 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 tough for Brugge, who have shown competence in this competition so 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 down despite the how his team collapsed on sunday

While Villa’s defense is always better with Konsa in the middle, the visitors should have plenty to cheer about against a Bruges side who usually concede two or more in Champions League departures Milan and Dortmund have taken advantage of a defense that can look overmatched at this level, and we should expect Villa’s attacking force to enjoy here.

Prediction: Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa

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