Comments and predictions for Club Brugge vs Aston Villa: Tough battle until the last minute
The match between Club Brugge vs Aston Villa in the Champions League takes place at 0:45 on March 5. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes performance, football commentary and predicts the score.
Latest Club Brugge vs Aston Villa team information
Club Brugge's biggest concern is in midfield, with key midfielder Raphael Onyedika missing Saturday's draw with Gent with a muscle injury, while Dutch defender Bjorn Meijer, who has been sidelined since late January, will also miss the first leg.
Captain Hans Vanaken is almost certain to start in midfield, having played every minute of this season’s Champions League campaign, with his penalty against Aston Villa marking his 20th European goal.
Up front, Chemsdine Talbi – who has attracted interest from several clubs in the transfer market after being involved in three goals in his last two European games – is likely to support Ferran Jutglà in attack.
Marco Asensio is set to make his Champions League debut for Aston Villa, having helped Villa reach the FA Cup quarter-finals on Friday alongside new signing Marcus Rashford. The PSG loanee has been in impressive form, scoring four goals in his last three games.
Another highlight is the return of Youri Tielemans to his homeland. It has been over a decade since he made his Champions League debut for Anderlecht as a 16-year-old, and now the central midfielder will be reunited with Belgian fans in Villa colours.
In goal, Emiliano Martinez has just recovered from a minor injury. He has faced 39 shots on target in European competition this season but has only conceded six, achieving a save rate of 85%.
Although Boubacar Kamara was named on the bench for the Cardiff game, Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash are still doubtful of returning, while Pau Torres (ankle), Amadou Onana (thigh) and Ross Barkley (calf) are all but certain to miss out. Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen are also ineligible.
Latest expected lineup for Club Brugge vs Aston Villa
Club Brugge:
Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Vetlesen; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla
Aston Villa:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Bogarde, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Asensio, Rogers; Watkins
Latest football commentary Club Brugge vs Aston Villa
European Cup runners-up in 1978, Club Brugge rarely make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League, and this is only the second time they have done so in their history. The Belgian side's journey to the last 16 has been an inspiring one, after they excelled in the group stage and continued their excellent run in the play-offs.
Winning at home thanks to a controversial penalty in the final minutes, the reigning Belgian champions then dominated Atalanta BC in the first half of the return leg, handing the Serie A title contenders a heavy defeat in which young talent Chemsdine Talbi shone with a brace.
Leaving Bergamo with a 5-2 aggregate score against the team that won the Europa League last season, Brugge continued their journey full of surprises after having a not really impressive start in the Champions League group stage.
Beaten by Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan in their first three games, Blauw-Zwart bounced back with a crucial win over Aston Villa, which saw them move into the top 24 on goal difference, despite losing 3-1 to Manchester City in their final game.
From there, they turned their attention back to the Belgian league, where they are 10 points behind leaders Genk. Last weekend, Brugge dropped points again when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Gent after conceding an equaliser in injury time.
Last season, Brugge won their fourth domestic title in five years, but under coach Nicky Hayen they have lost their previous dominance.
However, the team has been strong at the Jan Breydelstadion, where they have lost just once in their last 17 games – that defeat coming against Standard Liege last month. Their attack has also been consistent, with just one goalless run in their last 35 outings.
Like Aston Villa, Brugge were in the Europa Conference League last season, where they progressed through three qualifying rounds to reach the semi-finals. Both teams are adapting well to the challenge of Europe's top competition.
The first time the two sides met in November saw Club Brugge win 1-0, with a lapse in concentration from Tyrone Mings allowing Hans Vanaken to calmly slot home the winning penalty.
This result also helped Brugge break a streak of 14 consecutive matches without a win against English teams, including 11 defeats.
Latest Club Brugge vs Aston Villa score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Club Brugge vs Aston Villaas follows:
- Sportsmole:Club Brugge 1-2 Aston Villa
- WhoScore:Club Brugge 1-1 Aston Villa
- Our newspaper predicts:Club Brugge 1-1 Aston Villa
When and where to watch Club Brugge vs Aston Villa live?
To watch the live match between Club Brugge vs Aston Villa in the Champions League taking place at 0:45 on March 5, viewers can watch on TVK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.