Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa: UCL Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

On Tuesday night, Club Brugge and Aston Villa will face off at Jan Breydelstadion in the first leg of their last-16 encounter. This will be their second Champions League meeting this season.

After meeting in Bruges and Birmingham, the quarterfinals will be played against Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain, depending on the outcome.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Club Brugge, who finished runners-up in the 1978 European Cup, is making its second appearance in the Champions League's knockout stages after a narrow league phase and a remarkable playoff victory.

The Belgian champions breezed past Serie A title rivals Atalanta BC in the first half of their second game, building on their home-leg victory thanks to a contentious late penalty. Teenage winger Chemsdine Talbi had an outstanding display, scoring twice.

After a sluggish start to the first round of Europe's premier tournament, Brugge maintained their outstanding progress, leaving Bergamo with a 5-2 aggregate triumph against last year's Europa League champions.

Despite losing 3-1 to Manchester City on the last matchday, the Blauw-Zwart managed to win their way into the top 24 on goal differential after suffering losses to Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan in the first three rounds. They recovered by defeating Aston Villa.

Following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Gent, their focus shifted to the Belgian Pro League. Following the loss of a goal in the 94th minute, they now find themselves ten points behind leaders Genk.

Brugge won their fourth domestic crown in five years last season, but Nicky Hayen's team has been much weaker this year.

However, their home form is unmatched; they hadn't lost in 17 games at Jan Breydelstadion until last month's setback to Standard Liege.  Also, scoring isn't an issue; in their previous 35 games, they've let in only one goal.

Brugge, like Villa, competed in the Conference League last year. Both teams made it to the semi-finals after advancing through three qualifying rounds, and both have settled in nicely to life among Europe's elite.

In their first competitive matchup in November, the teams went into extra time and overtime, with Hayen's team coming out on top thanks to a penalty kick goal by Hans Vanaken. A split-second decision decided the game after Tyrone Mings was momentarily distracted.

The last straw broke a winless streak of fourteen matches against English opponents, eleven of which had ended in loss.

Only the Blauw-Zwart and Villa were able to defeat Unai Emery's squad in the league phase, and both teams deserved a spot in the elimination round.

Losing in Bruges was a setback for the Premier League team after they had swept their first three Champions League matches, including a historic home victory against Bayern Munich, by collecting all three points and keeping three clean sheets.

But in the end, a thrilling 4-2 triumph against Celtic guaranteed a beloved top-eight position and immediate advancement to the round of 16.

The Villans will once again look to their Basque manager for guidance. He has guided four teams into the knockout stage: Valencia, PSG, Villarreal, and now them.

The Birmingham side's league play has dipped, and their long-running away troubles have not yet ended due to injuries and exhaustion that have lately affected his Aston Villa team.

They have lost nine of their past twelve away games and are now in tenth position in England's premier league, only four points behind fifth.

With just two losses in 23 home games in all competitions, Emery will be eager to keep things tight in Belgium before going for gold at Villa Park. The most recent was Friday's 2-0 FA Cup triumph over second-tier Cardiff City.

Club Brugge x Aston Villa Team News

Raphael Onyedika, a staple in the middle of the pitch for Club Brugge, missed Saturday's league match against Gent due to a recent muscle ailment.  Dutch defender Bjorn Meier, who has been out since the end of January, will also miss the opening leg.

As the captain, Hans Vanaken will likely start in the middle of the field. He has appeared in every game so far this Champions League season, and his goal against Villa was his 20th goal in UEFA competition, coming from a penalty kick.

Chemsdine Talbi, linked to a move due to his involvement in three goals in his last two European matches, could back up Ferran Jutgla in the attacking third.

Standing set to make his first Champions League appearance for Villa, Marco Asensio joined up with fellow new boy Marcus Rashford to clinch an FA Cup quarterfinal berth on Friday - the PSG loanee now has four goals in his previous three outings.

The visitors' Belgian midfield general will return to his homeland. It has been almost a decade since Youri Tielemans made his Champions League debut for Anderlecht at 16.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez just returned from a slight injury. He has only been defeated by six of 39 shots on target faced in Europe this season, representing an 85% save rate.

Though Boubacar Kamara was back on the bench against Cardiff, Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash were unavailable. Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen are not eligible to play, while Pau Torres, Amadou Onana, and Ross Barkley will all be out with injuries to their ankle, thigh, and calf, respectively.

Our Predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.35 on Sky247.ng

In addition to Club Brugge's formidable home-field advantage, Aston Villa often suffers while playing away from home.

However, the English team could score on their return to Bruges next week thanks to several in-form attackers, keeping them in the hunt for a spot in the round of 16.

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