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Match Preview for Club Brugge v Barcelona
Barcelona will be looking to move onto nine points from four matches in the Champions League when they travel to face Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
Hansi Flick’s side have collected six points from their opening three games, leaving them ninth in the overall table, while Club Brugge sit in 20th with just three points to their name.
Brugge come into this fixture following a 2-1 league win over Dender, a result that kept them second in the Belgian Pro League, three points behind Union Saint-Gilloise.
Nicky Hayen’s team have now recorded three consecutive victories in all competitions, their last defeat being a 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on October 22.
The Belgian side made an impressive start to their European campaign, thrashing Monaco 4-1 at home, but have since been beaten by Atalanta and Bayern, leaving them near the bottom of the standings.
Barcelona arrive in Belgium after a 3-1 victory over Elche, which lifted them back into second place in La Liga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
The Catalan club have already lost once in this campaign, suffering a 2-1 defeat to holders Paris Saint-Germain, but victories over Newcastle and Olympiacos have kept them in contention for a top-eight finish.
Team news for Club Brugge v Barcelona
Club Brugge will once again be without Bjorn Meijer, Simon Mignolet, Ludovit Reis and Raphael Onyedika, all sidelined through injury.
Nordin Jackers is expected to continue in goal, while Christos Tzolis will feature in attack after an impressive campaign that has seen him record eight goals and eight assists in 21 appearances.
Nicolo Tresoldi is set to lead the line, having contributed six goals and three assists so far this season.
For Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo both made successful returns from injury against Elche and are in contention to start.
However, Joan Garcia remains unavailable despite returning to training, while Andreas Christensen is also likely to miss out as he continues to recover from a calf issue.
Lamine Yamal is managing a groin problem but is expected to feature from the start. Gavi (knee), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back), Raphinha (hamstring) and Pedri (hamstring) are all still sidelined.
Pau Cubarsi, who was an unused substitute at the weekend, is set to return to the starting lineup in Europe.
Expected line-ups for Club Brugge v Barcelona
Club Brugge: Jackers; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, Seys; Forbs, Audoor, Stankovic, Vanaken, Tzolis; Tresoldi
Barcelona: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Garcia, Balde; Casado, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; Torres
How to watch Club Brugge v Barcelona: TV channel, online stream
The Champions League clash between Club Brugge and Barcelona will take place at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, on Wednesday, 5 November, with kick-off scheduled for 8:00pm.
In the UK, the match will be shown live on TNT Sports 2, with coverage beginning 45 minutes before kick-off. Subscribers can also stream the game online through Discovery+ or the TNT Sports app.
The stats for Club Brugge v Barcelona
- This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Club Brugge and Barcelona
- Club Brugge have won four of their last five home matches in European competition
- Barcelona have scored at least twice in six of their last seven Champions League away games
- Club Brugge have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six Champions League fixtures
- Barcelona have won five of their last seven matches against Belgian opposition
- Christos Tzolis has been directly involved in 16 goals for Club Brugge this season in all competitions
Prediction
Club Brugge were excellent in their only home game of this Champions League campaign, but Barcelona’s quality and attacking depth should see them through.
Prediction: Club Brugge 1-3 Barcelona
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
