Club Brugge vs Aston Villa – Champions League match preview and team news

The Football Faithful

·4 mars 2025

Club Brugge vs Aston Villa – Champions League match preview and team news

Aston Villa face Club Brugge on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Uefa Champions League round of 16 tie.

The two sides have already encountered each other in the competition this season. Brugge narrowly beat the Villans, who will be hoping for a different outcome tonight.

Vidéos OneFootball

Unai Emery’s defensive options have been bolstered by the return of Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash. The former hasn’t appeared this calendar year due to a broken metatarsal while the other two missed Friday’s match against Cardiff.

Boubacar Kamara is also back in contention to start after only being fit enough to be an unused substitute in the FA Cup.

January signings Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia haven’t travelled to Belgium as they were not registered in the European squad. Uefa rules allow for a maximum of three changes to the roster from the league phase. Villa decided to include fellow January arrivals Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi.

Club Brugge knocked out Europa League holders Atalanta by winning 5-2 on aggregate in the playoff tie. Full-back Joaquin Seys is unavailable after being forced off against Gent on the weekend. The teenager has featured in every Champions League match this season.

Club Brugge vs Aston Villa – Match Preview and team news

Form

Club Brugge: WDWLD

After their 1-1 draw with Pro League leaders Gent at the weekend, it is now mathematically impossible for Brugge to finish in top spot. However, the Belgian top flight doesn’t follow the traditional format for winning the title.

Only two games remain in the regular season, which will be followed by the top six teams entering a championship play-off to determine who claims the crown.

Nicky Hayen’s team managed to stay in the Champions League by the finest of margins. A superior goal difference meant they finished in 24th position in the league phase, the last spot for the play-offs.

A stoppage-time penalty from Gustaf Nilsson helped them enter the second leg with a slender advantage over Atalanta. Brugge’s terrific first-half display in Italy saw them race into a 5-1 lead on aggregate and their opposition failed to muster a comeback.

Read – Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Club Brugge

Aston Villa: DDWLW

Villa advanced into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Friday night by beating Championship outfit Cardiff City 2-0. Marco Asensio continued his impressive goalscoring form with another brace at Villa Park. Unai Emery and his players face second tier opposition in the next round as they travel to Preston North End.

In Europe, Villa have only lost two matches. However, both of those have come away from home to Monaco and tonight’s opponents, Brugge.

It has been a hectic schedule for the Birmingham based club. Tonight’s match will be their sixth match in just 16 days.

Last Meeting

Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa, Champions League, 6th November 2024

Club Brugge beat Aston Villa back in November with the decisive goal being born out of bizarre circumstances.

The Villans travelled to Belgium with a perfect record in the Champions League after winning all three of their opening matches.

Unai Emery’s side looked dangerous in transition in the first period. Ollie Watkins drilled a shot marginally wide of the post before John McGinn miscued a header over the crossbar.

A smart reaction from Emi Martinez prevented the hosts from gaining the advantage. Ferran Jutgla lashed an effort towards the near post, but the Argentine stopper was alert and managed to push the shot onto the upright.

Club Brugge’s period of dominance around the half hour mark showed no signs of slowing down. Gustaf Nilsson’s glancing header looked to have beaten Martinez only for Tyrone Mings to clear off the line.

Five minutes into the second period, the Belgian outfit were awarded a penalty by referee Tobias Stieler. In a moment of madness, Mings misread the situation and handled the ball after Martinez had taken the goal kick. Brugge captain Hans Vanaken effortlessly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from 12 yards to put his team in front.

The visitors were flustered from the incident and didn’t recover. Bjorn Meijer and Andreas Skov Olson both spurned opportunities to double the deficit for the hosts.

Villa didn’t register a single shot on target in the second period which saw their unbeaten European record tarnished.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off at the Jan Breydelstadion will be at 17:45 GMT on Tuesday, 4 March 2025.

Who is the referee?

Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro will be the match official. Bruno Jesus and Luciano Maia will assist him while Joao Goncalves will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Tiago Martins and he will be assisted by Pol van Boekel.

Read – IFAB approve major rule change ahead of next season