Bruggevs.Aston Villa

Either Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain will await the winners in the quarter-finals, after the pair convene in Bruges and in Birmingham.

Match preview

European Cup runners-up back in 1978, Club Brugge are making a rare venture into the Champions League's knockout rounds - only their second to date - after squeezing through the league phase before enjoying a memorable playoff success.

Having won the home leg with a controversial late penalty, the Belgian champions simply swept Serie A title contenders Atalanta BC aside in the first half of their second encounter, as teenage winger Chemsdine Talbi scored twice in a breakout performance.

Leaving Bergamo with a 5-2 aggregate win over last year's Europa League winners, Brugge continued their impressive progress following a slow start to the first stage of Europe's top competition.

Beaten by Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan during the first three rounds, the Blauw-Zwart bounced back by beating Aston Villa and ultimately made the top 24 on goal difference, despite a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on the last matchday.

Since then, they have turned their attention to Belgium's Pro League, where they have a 10-point deficit to leaders Genk after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Gent.

Last term, Brugge claimed a fourth domestic title in five years, but Nicky Hayen's side have proved to be less formidable this time around.

Still, they are particularly strong at home, as last month's loss to Standard Liege was their first in 17 games at Jan Breydelstadion. Finding the net is no problem either: they have failed to score in just one of their last 35 fixtures.

Like Villa, Brugge took part in the Conference League last season, coming through three qualifying rounds before reaching the semi-finals - and both have adapted well to life amid Europe's elite.

The clubs' first competitive meeting in November brought a close-fought 1-0 win for Hayen's side, with the teams separated by a moment of absent-mindedness from Tyrone Mings, after which Hans Vanaken coolly dispatched a decisive penalty.

That finally ended a long winless run against English opposition that stretched back some 14 matches - 11 of which had been defeats.

The Blauw-Zwart were one of only two teams that managed to beat Unai Emery's men during the league phase, as Villa also proved worthy of their place in the elimination stage.

After storming through their first three Champions League fixtures - including a memorable home win over Bayern Munich - by claiming maximum points and a trio of clean sheets, the Premier League side then stumbled with that loss in Bruges.

Nonetheless, finishing up with an eventful 4-2 victory over Celtic ultimately secured a cherished top-eight finish and direct entry to the last 16.

Once again, the Villans will lean upon the vast experience of their Basque boss, who now leads a fourth different team into the knockout phase, following previous runs with Valencia, PSG and Villarreal.

As injuries and fatigue have recently set into his Aston Villa squad, the Birmingham side have seen their league form waver - and a long trend of away struggles has yet to abate.

Sitting only 10th in England's top flight - albeit just four points shy of fifth place - they have have lost nine of their last 12 fixtures on the road.

But, with just two defeats in 23 home games across all competitions - the latest being Friday's 2-0 FA Cup win over second-tier Cardiff City - Emery will be keen to keep things tight in Belgium before going for glory at Villa Park.

Club Brugge Champions League form:

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Club Brugge form (all competitions):

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Aston Villa Champions League form:

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Aston Villa form (all competitions):

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Team News

Club Brugge's main concern relates to midfield mainstay Raphael Onyedika, who recently sustained a muscular injury and sat out Saturday's league draw with Gent. Dutch defender Bjorn Meier has been sidelined since the end of January and is also set to miss the first leg.

Sure to start in midfield, captain Hans Vanaken has played every minute of the current Champions League campaign - his spot-kick winner against Villa was his 20th goal in UEFA competition.

Meanwhile, Chemsdine Talbi - who has drawn transfer attention after playing a part in three goals in his last two European games - should support Ferran Jutgla up front.

Standing ready to make his first Champions League appearance for Villa, Marco Asensio linked up with fellow new boy Marcus Rashford to secure a FA Cup quarter-final place on Friday - the PSG loanee now has four goals in his last three games.

The visitors' Belgian midfield general will return to his homeland: it is over a decade since Youri Tielemans made his Champions League debut for Anderlecht, aged 16.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez recently returned from a minor injury, and he has only been beaten with six of 39 shots on target faced in Europe this season, meaning an 85% save percentage.

Though Boubacar Kamara was back on the bench against Cardiff, Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash were unavailable. They may yet return, but Pau Torres (ankle), Amadou Onana (thigh) and Ross Barkley (calf) will miss out again; Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen are ineligible.

Club Brugge possible starting lineup:

Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Vetlesen; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Bogarde, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Asensio, Rogers; Watkins

We say: Club Brugge 1-1 Aston Villa

Not only are Club Brugge tough to beat on home turf, but Aston Villa are generally a much weaker team on their travels.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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