Champions League: Barca’s Busy Week Starts With a Short Trip to Brugge

Club Brugge vs Barcelona

Barcelona will commence their two-game road trip with a Champions League clash against Club Brugge on Wednesday night at the Jan Breydel Stadium, as Hansi Flick’s side aims to move onto nine points from four matches in the league phase this term.

The Blaugrana are coming off a 3-1 win against Elche in La Liga, a solid response to their 2-1 El Clásico defeat against bitter rivals Real Madrid. Barcelona are second in the Spanish top-flight table with 25 points and ninth in the Champions League standings.

On the other hand, Club Brugge are 20th in the Champions League standings with only three points. After a 4-1 win against AS Monaco to commence their league phase campaign, Nicky Hayen’s men dropped their last two against Atalanta (2-1) and Bayern Munich (4-0). However, Blauw-Zwart are on a two-game winning streak in the Belgian Pro League. 

 

Talking Points

Club Brugge have a dynamic young core

Since their 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich last month, Club Brugge have won their last three across all competitions, and much of their recent form is owed to the goals scored by their young and dynamic attackers.

Romeo Vermant scored the matchwinner against Antwerp last weekend to take his tally to two league goals this season. Shandre Campbell and Cisse Sandra (brace) accounted for three of the team’s six goals in their cup win over Eendracht Aaist (6-1). Nicolo Tresoldi and Christos Tzolis also found the back of the net in Club Brugge’s 2-1 victory over Dender two days ago. 

Among these Under-25 standouts, Tzolis has been the most productive, scoring eight goals and eight assists in 21 appearances across all competitions this term. Tresoldi isn’t far behind with six goals and three assists.

Club Brugge will be without the services of four key players through injury against Barcelona, with Simon Mignolet, Ludovit Reis, Raphael Onyedika, and Bjorn Meijer unavailable for selection. With Mignolet on the sidelines, No. 2 goalkeeper Nordin Jackers will be between the sticks again, and he’ll face significant pressure against Barcelona’s potent attack.

 

Barcelona get injury boosts

Barcelona saw the injury returns of Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo against Elche, and the pair is expected to be in the squad against Club Brugge. Hansi Flick will likely maintain a cautious approach, so Lewandowski and Olmo are likely to come off the bench.

Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, and Marcus Rashford will likely start up front on Wednesday after they all found the back of the net in yesterday’s 3-0 win over Elche. Yamal has been dealing with a groin problem, so his load is being managed by the club. On the other hand, the Blaugrana will continue to miss the services of Gavi (knee), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back), Raphinha (hamstring), and Pedri (hamstring). Pau Cubarsi was an unused substitute last night, and he could return to the starting side against Blauw-Zwart.

 

History

Wednesday marks only the third encounter between Club Brugge and Barcelona. These two teams last faced off in the first group stage of the 2002-03 Champions League, where Barcelona won 3-2 in Camp Nou and won 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the Jan Breydel Stadium. 

The Blaugrana advanced to the second group stage after finishing at the top of Group H, whereas Club Brugge transferred to the UEFA Cup after finishing third. Barcelona then advanced to the knockouts after finishing at the top of Group A in the second group stage. However, they eventually lost to Juventus in the quarter-finals (3-2 aggregate score). 

Last season, Club Brugge reached the Round of 16, losing 6-1 on aggregate to Aston Villa after upsetting Atalanta in the knockout round playoffs. Meanwhile, Barcelona were in the semi-finals, incredibly losing 7-6 on aggregate to Inter Milan.

 

Betting Tip

The Champions League 2025 odds unsurprisingly favour the Blaugrana to win on the road on Wednesday. Barcelona are 1.43 favourites, whereas Club Brugge are huge 5.20 underdogs, and a draw is at 4.68 in the 1X2 market. Despite the huge gap in the betting odds, this should be a tricky match for Barcelona, but the reigning La Liga champions have enough quality to see this through.

Both teams are capable of creating new Champions League 2025 highlights, so, besides our recommended bet, SBOTOP bettors may also add Over 3.25 at 1.66, Over 3.50 at 1.87, Over 3.75 at 2.07, and even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.16 to the parlay. Furthermore, a Correct Score of 1-0 in favour of Barcelona – the result of their previous meeting – is on offer at 13.00.

   

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