Manchester City vs Club Brugge Preview

Champions League - League Phase GW8

This is a must-win match for both teams if one of them wants to progress to the next stage of the Champions League. Manchester City come into the match without a win in their last four, and Club Brugge come into it unbeaten in four, having won two of those. Including an impressive win against Aston Villa (1-0). Unlike Chelsea, Club Brugge is comfortable coming away from home to sit deeper and look for space to attack in transition. It’ll come down to if Manchester City can break through their deep defensive block.

Previous Results:

• Manchester City have not won in their last four Champions League matches, losing three and drawing one. They are currently sitting 25th in the league table on 8 points.

• Club Brugge is unbeaten in their previous four Champions League matches. Beating Aston Villa (1-0) and Sporting CP (2-1). Drawing against Celtic (1-1) and Juventus (0-0). They are currently sitting 20th in the league table on 11 points.

Notable Injuries:

• Manchester City are without Rodri, Ake, Doku, and Dias. Oscar Bobb and John Stones are in contention for minutes. Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, and Vitor Reis are all ineligible.

• Club Brugge has a fully fit squad.

Club Brugge Stats:

• Club Brugge is unbeaten in their last 16 matches, with the last loss coming against AC Milan in the Champions League (1-3). Conceding one or fewer goals in ten of those matches and keeping six clean sheets.

• In the Belgian Pro League, Club Brugge sat 2nd on 48 points, three behind the leaders Genk.

• In the Champions League, Club Brugge are yet to have a single player score more than one goal. Vanaken, Tzolis, Sabbe, and Nielsen are all on one goal each.

If you want to stay up-to-date on individual player minutes, back four combinations, underlying numbers, and more, check out the live Google sheet below. 👇

One to Watch

Manchester City - Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne was rested against Chelsea, and Omar Marmoush came to the team, giving them a lift despite not contributing a goal. Against a team that will be well-organized defensively and has a real chance of progressing through to the next round in a must-win match, these are the moments you’d expect Kevin De Bruyne to deliver. At his best, he can take the game away from Club Brugge within minutes.

Club Brugge - Maxim De Cuyper

De Cuyper (23) is a fantastic young left-back, the future for the National Team in that position, and a player I’d expect to get a big move in the summer. Operates high and wide for Club Brugge, contributing to the buildup as well as around the penalty box. attacking the byline and coming inside to the half-space. Providing a lot of crossing output into the box, often aimed at the penalty spot, using either foot. He is useful in transition as well, making sure he’s available for the switch.

De Cuyper can be suspect defensively, which perhaps is why the move to a better league hasn’t materialized just yet, and he is sometimes found overactive to tackles. Either jumping in too soon which means he gets beat, or backing off too early to give the winger separation to find a pass.

Final Predictions

The pressure is on Manchester City in this match, at home, to pin Club Brugge back and break them down. The Belgium club can score in transition, especially with the attacking qualities of De Cuyper. The wins against Aston Villa and Juventus are flattering given the league form of both teams, whilst Dortmund and AC Milan managed to score three goals against them to win. Although Manchester City has struggled in previous games, I think a difficult game is going to quickly look quite easy this evening.

Predicted Lineup:

Predicted Score: Manchester City 3-0 Club Brugge