Comments and predictions for Aston Villa vs Club Brugge: Unexpected scenario

Latest Aston Villa vs Club Brugge team information

Unai Emery has seen Aston Villa’s injury list dwindle in recent times, with only Ross Barkley (calf) still sidelined. Marco Asensio – who has scored five goals in his last four games – and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez were both ruled out of last weekend’s game in London but are now fit to return.

Asensio, who came off the bench to make an impact in the first leg in Bruges, now has 10 Champions League goals as a substitute – the most in the competition’s history. The return of the midfielder on loan from PSG will surely please Emery.

Centre-back Pau Torres has also recovered from an ankle injury and will compete with Tyrone Mings for a starting spot at left-back, while Axel Disasi – who impressed against Brentford – is likely to continue at right-back.

However, two new recruits in the winter transfer window, Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia, will not be able to play due to not being registered for the Champions League knockout stage.

On Club Brugge's side, Joaquin Seys has missed the last two matches due to a hamstring injury, while Bjorn Meijer has not been able to return for the same reason.

Captain Hans Vanaken – who scored in Brugge’s group stage win over Aston Villa – will be making his 50th Champions League appearance. The veteran midfielder has played in every Brugge game in Europe’s premier competition since the 2016-17 season, second only to Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez (51) for the most consecutive appearances for one club.

Vanaken is likely to be joined by Spanish striker Ferran Jutgla – who scored twice at the weekend and has scored six goals in his last seven appearances – along with young talent Chemsdine Talbi, who has been in fine form with three goals in his last three European games.

Aston Villa vs Club Brugge latest expected lineup

Aston Villa:

Martinez; Disasi, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins

Club Brugge:

Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla

Latest football commentary on Aston Villa vs Club Brugge

Brushing aside the disappointment of a 1-0 defeat to Club Brugge in the group stage earlier this season, Aston Villa quickly took the lead in the first leg when Leon Bailey decisively opened the scoring.

Although Maxim De Cuyper equalized for the home team early on and the game remained tight for most of the remaining time, a serious mistake by Brandon Mechele with an own goal in the 82nd minute gave Villa the lead. It did not stop there, Christos Tzolis committed a foul in the box, creating conditions for the visitors to be awarded a penalty.

Marco Asensio, coming off the bench, continued to show his scoring touch when he successfully converted a penalty kick, sealing a 3-1 win for Aston Villa and bringing them closer to a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Unai Emery's side are now aiming to become the first team to reach the quarter-finals in their debut Champions League campaign since Atalanta in 2019-20. If they do, they will also become the first English side to do so since Leicester City eight years ago.

Villa have maintained their impressive home form in Europe under Emery, with the Spaniard having lost just three of his last 19 home games in the Champions League, having managed four different teams, including four at Villa Park this season.

After a period of inconsistent play, Villa have regained their confidence with three consecutive wins in all competitions, thereby putting one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals – where they could face Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain – and also booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Villa continued to improve their Premier League position at the weekend as Ollie Watkins scored the only goal against former club Brentford in a spirited 1-0 win, only their second in eight league games.

Currently on a 15-game unbeaten run at home, Aston Villa return to Villa Park to host Club Brugge, a Belgian side they have not faced here since April 1982 – when Villa beat Anderlecht in the European Cup semi-finals en route to the title.

On the other hand, Club Brugge – European runners-up in 1978 – are making their second appearance in the Champions League knockout round in history, after advancing through the group stage and creating a surprise against Atalanta in the play-off round.

However, their journey was in danger of coming to an end after last week's home defeat, with Nicky Hayen's side squandering several chances before collapsing in the final minutes, leaving them with a huge disadvantage ahead of the return leg.

History is not on Brugge's side either. Villa have progressed in 12 of their previous 14 ties after winning the first leg, while Brugge have lost all six of their first-leg home games in European competition and have been eliminated on all six occasions.

Furthermore, the Belgians have never won away from home against English sides in 14 encounters, losing 12. Only Anderlecht (18) and Dynamo Kyiv (15) have visited England more times without winning.

They have also conceded a total of 41 goals against English sides in European competition, including a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the 1978 final at Wembley, while scoring just nine.

Brugge, however, have reason to be hopeful. After the defeat to Villa, they bounced back with a 3-1 win over fellow city side Cercle Brugge in the Belgian league. Hans Vanaken opened the scoring before Ferran Jutgla scored twice to give the team their second win in seven away games.

Furthermore, Brugge have failed to score in just one of their last 37 games and have won eight of their last 14 away games in European competition, including an impressive 3-1 win over Atalanta in Bergamo. This will be a source of motivation for them to fight on and keep their Champions League journey alive for another round.

Latest Aston Villa vs Club Brugge score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Aston Villa vs Club Bruggeas follows:

• Sportsmole:Aston Villa 2-1 Club Brugge

• WhoScore:Aston Villa 2-2 Club Brugge
• Our newspaper predicts:Aston Villa 2-2 Club Brugge

When and where to watch Aston Villa vs Club Brugge live?

To watch live the match Aston Villa vs Club Brugge in the Champion League taking place at 3:00 a.m. on March 13, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.