Preview: Can Brugge bolster home form against Villa?

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Club Brugge qualified as the lowest ranked side for the UEFA Champions League knock-out play-offs as they face Aston Villa whom they narrowly defeated in November.

Brugge defied expectations with a strong 5-2 aggregate victory over Atalanta to secure their place in the knockout phase.

Now the Belgian side hope to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 1977/78 season when they made it to the final. With that said, Brugge’s record against English clubs may be concerning, considering they have one win in their last 16 European matches against English opposition (with three draws and 12 losses) while also conceding 42 goals in that span.

Club Brugge’s confidence will be bolstered by their dominant home form at the Jan Breydelstadion, where they’ve only lost once (W13, D3) in 17 matches across all competitions they’re involved in this season. In the Champions League, they’ve won three of their last four home games by one-goal margins.

Aston Villa on the other hand, led by Unai Emery will aim to avenge their loss in the previous head-to-head, which was decided by a controversial penalty. Historically, Villa have struggled against Belgian opponents, winning just one of their last five encounters (D1, L3), with their only victory coming in the 1981/82 UCL semi-finals.

Villa’s away form may pose a significant challenge as they have won only two of their last 12 away matches in all competitions (D1, L9) while failing to score in six of those defeats. This highly contrasts with their 1981/82 campaign, when they lifted the UCL trophy, their only triumph in the competition.

Chemsdine Talbi, who contributed to three of Brugge’s five goals against Atalanta (G2, A1) and would become the first Belgian teenager to score three goals in a single UCL campaign is one to watch out for for the Belgian side.

For Villa, loan signing Marco Asensio has been impactful, scoring four goals in his last three matches, with three of those assisted by Marcus Rashford.

Photo: AVFCOfficial/X

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