Club Brugge will welcome SL Benfica to the Jan Breydel Stadium Stadium for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash on Wednesday.
An out-of-sorts Club Brugge will welcome Portuguese giants Benfica for the first time ever to the RJan Breydel Stadium in their round of 16 first-leg tie in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Scott Parker’s side are going through a poor run of form, failing to win their previous seven games across all competitions. This has seen them fall to a fourth spot in the Belgian Pro League. And they are in need of a massive statement to get their campaign back on track.
Benfica, on the other hand, are top of their league and will be aiming to make it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the second time in two years. They are smarting over the defeat in the Taca de Portugal loss to Sporting Braga on penalties and will be keen to avoid going two matches in a row without a win for the first time since December 2022.
Brugge were the surprise package of the competition this season, securing qualification to the knockout stages for the first time in their history since the competition was rebranded to the Champions League. The fact that they made it past the group stages over Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen deserves special praise.
Benfica are not the strongest side in the competition, and the draw is largely a favourable one for Brugge. Roger Schmidt’s side, however, go into the tie as favourites. And how the first leg turns out could be a sign of what to expect over the two legs.
It promises to be an intriguing contest between two sides on opposite ends of the form spectrum. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up and what tactics they might employ in the game.
Team News & Tactics
Club Brugge
Time for #UCL action! 👊🏻✨
See you tomorrow! 🔵⚫️ #CLUSLB
— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) February 14, 2023
The Belgian giants have lost just once in the group stage this season, keeping an incredible five clean sheets over six matches. However, making it to the knockouts for the first time was not enough to keep Carl Hoefkens in the job owing to their dismal form in the league.
Scott Parker took over in December but is yet to turn the club’s fortunes around. The Englishman has led Brugge to five draws in their first seven league games under his tutelage and will need a miracle to lead them to another successful title defence.
A win against Benfica will be a morale booster and could be the moment that turns around their season. With the league title out of reach and having already been knocked out of the club, Brugge can focus all their attention on going far in the Champions League.
Parker will be without Andreas Skov Olsen, who is out injured. Tajon Buchanan and Ferran Jutgla are expected to make the cut but could start on the bench. Parker has an otherwise fully fit squad and will be keen to take full advantage of playing at home to get the ball rolling.
Brugge are likely to deploy in a 4-3-3 formation with former Champions League winner Simon Mignolet in goal. The former Liverpool man will be the club’s last line of defence behind the back four of Clinton Mata, Jack Hendry, Brandon Mechele and Bjorn Meijer.
Skipper Hans Vanaken scored at the weekend and is expected to retain his spot in central midfield alongside Mats Rits and Raphael Onyedika. Casper Nielsen could be brought on as a goalscoring threat if needed.
The midfield trio will act as the engine room, aiding the frontline of Tajon Buchanan, Roman Yaremchuk and Noa Lang to thrive further upfield.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Mignolet; Mata, Hendry, Mechele, Meijer; Rits, Onyedika, Vanaken; Buchanan, Yaremchuk, Lang
SL Benfica
Roger Schmidt’s side finished top in a group that also included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. The Portuguese giants lost star midfielder Enzo Fernandez in January. But it appears to have done little to throw them off their game.
The loss to Braga in the Cup came as a shock, and the Eagles will be keen to set the record straight against Brugge. Schmidt has no injuries to worry about and can select from his strongest players on the night.
Benfica are likely to deploy in a 4-2-3-1 formation that will look to assert dominance in midfield. Odysseas Vlachodimos should start in goal behind the rearguard quartet of Alexander Bah, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi and Alejandro Grimaldo.
👋 Hi, Belgium! #BRUSLB | #UCL pic.twitter.com/MktbhdlWR6
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) February 14, 2023
Florentino Luís is likely to form the double pivot with Chiquinho, who has stepped up for the side following Enzo Fernandez’s exit. The duo will provide the base for the trio of Joao Mario, David Neres and Fredrik Aursnes to inflict damage in the attack.
Goncalo Guedes is likely to get the nod over Goncalo Ramos for the night. The latter came off the bench against Braga and played until the end of extra time, while the former was taken off in the 90th minute. Guedes is likely to be the fresher of the lot and is also in the better nick of form at the moment.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos; Bah, Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Florentino, Chiquinho; Mario, Neres, Aursnes; Guedes
Key Stats
- Club Brugge and SL Benfica have never faced off against each other in European competitions before.
- This is the second time this season that Brugge will go up against a Portuguese side in the competition. They defeated FC Porto 4-0 away in the group stages before being handed back the favour in a 4-0 hammering at home in the reverse fixture.
- Benfica will be the sixth different Portuguese side that Brugge will have faced in Europe. They have won just one of their last five clashes against Liga Portugal opponents. Benfica have not lost to Belgian opposition in Europe since 2004. Since then, they have won four of the five clashes against teams from the nation.
- Club Brugge have won three games in the Champions League this season. The last time they did so was in 1977/78 when they made it to the final, losing to Liverpool at Wembley.
- Club Brugge have kept five clean sheets in the competition so far, the most of any side in this season’s edition.
Player to Watch
Noa Lang
The Dutchman made waves with his performances for Ajax before eventually moving to Brugge in 2020/21 initially on loan. He has secured seven goals and made three assists in 24 games this season, of which two were in the Champions League.
With Olsen missing and Jutgla not at a hundred per cent, Brugge could be missing two of their top three goalscorers from this season. The stage is set for Lang to rekindle his old passion and make a difference for his side on the field. A good dribbler with an eye for a pass, Lang is a difficult player to pin down.
Add to it his ability on set pieces, and Brugge could make a difference on the dead ball. The game is likely to be a cagey affair in the first leg, and the clash needs players of Lang’s ability to make a telling difference. Having him run at a slow and ponderous Otamendi could cause havoc in the Benfica backline and open up space for Roman Yaremchuk and Tajon Buchanan to exploit.
Prediction
Club Brugge 0-2 SL Benfica
Having been knocked out of the Taca de Portugal, the visitors will be motivated to get back to winning ways. Another loss on the night could make life difficult for Scott Parker, and he is likely to play it safe.
Doing so could hand the initiative to Benfica, giving them the impetus to go all out for the win. While the game is likely to be hard fought, the visitors’ quality should in the end, make the difference on the night.
