Club Brugge will seek to rise against Aston Villa on Match Day 4 of the UEFA Champions League. Hosting this Wednesday game, Club Brugge are also targeting a second win in the league phase of the competition and here’s our preview and prediction of the match.
Two losses in three mean Club Brugge are outside the playoff places, as they struggle to cope with the new Champions League format. The Belgians are coming from three straight wins in domestic matches, the most recent a 1-0 victory over OH Leuven.
However, in 28 matches against English teams, Club Brugge won six and lost 17.
Aston Villa have so far been perfect in the Champions League and sit atop the 36-tam standings. Having beaten Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna, they’ll look at this as an easier task. Still, it will call for great focus as Villa are coming from a tough run.
They are winless in the last three matches, and lost back-to-back games in that period. This will mark Villa’s fifth match against a Belgian club and Villa will be looking to add to the single win against Anderlecht.
Last season they reached the Conference league semi-finals so this is a massive step-up but the visitors are coping.
Aston Villa have had a great start to the Champions League, and managed by a specialist in Europe, their stars have aligned well. The next two matches will be crucial for their European ambitions and Villa will want to take full advantage here.
If they get to 12 points, advancing to the next round will be really close. Going by their start, and their opponents’ struggles in Europe, a win for Villa could be loading here. Our prediction for Club Brugge v Aston Villa is for Villa to win.