Club Brugge are eager to improve their playoff qualification hopes as they take on table toppers Arsenal, who are on the brink of reaching the next round.
The Jan Breydel Stadium is the venue for a crucial clash between Club Brugge and Arsenal, with the former desperate to revive any hope of making it to the play-off round. The way the Belgian side started their Champions League campaign with a 4-1 battering of Monaco, it appeared like they could be ready to make a big statement, albeit as dark horses.
However, their campaign in Europe has since unravelled, as Brugge were only able to take a single point from a possible 12. That solitary point came in the big 3-3 draw to Barcelona, as their inability to get anything from away games could have probably already cost them a chance to finish inside the top-24. They could rely on their home form in the group phases, where Brugge are unbeaten in five such games.
For now, they are two places adrift of a top 24 place, and 48 hours before Arsenal come visiting, Brugge have sacked manager Nicky Hayen following dismal results in Europe and domestically. Former Croatian international Ivan Leko will take charge of his first team as head coach, and it doesn’t get any difficult than facing the Champions League table toppers.
Visitors Arsenal are on the brink of qualification into the next round as one of the top eight teams, considering it took 16 points last season to guarantee such a place. There are, of course, many complicated permutations before the Gunners can stake a claim at a top-eight place, but they are the only team in the Champions League so far with a 100% record.
In the most recent round, they faced off against the formidable Bayern Munich at the Emirates, as Mikel Arteta’s side put in a dominant performance over the German giants. The only negative point from the result was that Arsenal conceded their first goal of the season in the Champions League.
On to their overall form, since the Bayern Munich win, the Gunners have dropped significant points away to Chelsea and Aston Villa. The latter was a painful loss at the weekend, as a goal deep into injury time sealed the victory for Unai Emery’s side, which has since allowed Manchester City to close the gap to two points in the Premier League title race. For now, Arteta will focus his efforts on qualifying for the Champions League knockout rounds with an expected win over Club Brugge.
Team News & Tactics
Club Brugge
Leko has a massive injury list in front of him as he takes charge of his first game as Club Brugge’s head coach. Starting at the back, both the first-choice keepers in Simon Mignolet and Nordin Jackers, are missing, meaning Dani van den Heuvel will start.
At least seven more first-team stars are out of action for this clash, including centre-back Zaid Romero as well as midfield duo Lynnt Audoor and Ludovit Reis. Striker Romeo Vermant is also out of the equation with a concussion issue.
Leko will place his trust in 21-year-old defensive sensation Joel Ordonez to keep things quiet at the back to an extent, while Aleksandar Stankovic, the son of former Inter Milan star Dejan Stankovic, could get a start in midfield alongside Raphael Onyedika. Hans Vanaken, Carlos Forbs and Christos Tzolis will play in the attacking third behind strikerNicolo Tresoldi.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Heuvel; Siquet, Mechele, Ordonez, Seys; Stankovic, Onyedikal Forbs, Vanaken, Tzolis; Tresoldi
Arsenal
Arteta’s injury issues continued to mount, as there are some significant doubts for the trip to Bruges. Defensive injuries are growing at the club as attackers continue to return to action, as Riccardo Calafiori was seen limping off towards the tunnel at Villa Park, which marks him as a significant doubt.
This comes after Cristian Mosquera’s injury against Brentford was deemed serious enough for the Spaniard to miss six to eight weeks of action. Arsenal are already missing the key centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, with the former yet to resume training as per the most recent report.
Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were also absent from the latest training session, which casts doubts over their involvement. Both those players have been carrying minor issues of late, as this trip to Bruges could see Arteta rotate his pack heavily.
The likes of Christian Norgaard, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Noni Madueke could all get starts. Viktor Gyokeres could also make a first start since the away clash at Burnley, as some of the overworked first-team stars could get some much-deserved rest.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino; Madueke, Nwaneri, Martinelli; Gyokeres
Key Stats
- Club Brugge are unbeaten in their last 5 games at home in the Champions League group phase.
- Club Brugge have lost 14 of their 18 games against English clubs.
- Arsenal have conceded only 1 goal in this season’s Champions League group phase rounds.
- Arsenal could win their 10th straight game against Belgian sides in the Champions League.
Player to Watch
Viktor Gyokeres
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’6cWc8zmrSiJGN2fZ6o5hRw’,sig:’oTrsp5aCCcwBHJMzsCKBH9ObkKb2h8LqQ8iRJOWRzsY=’,w:’594px’,h:’396px’,items:’2250324057′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});
It’s been two games since Gyokeres has taken the pitch for Arsenal, albeit as a substitute, and he barely had any sort of impact in those. It’s always a cautious approach for any key star returning from a few weeks out, and in the Swede’s case, he needs to hit the ground running at the earliest.
The visit to Belgium does offer an opportunity for the Swede to showcase his sharpness in front of goal, as Arteta is likely to hand him a start there. These are clashes where Gyokeres needs to gain his match sharpness and bring the form that saw him become the first-choice striker before suffering the untimely injury against Burnley.
Prediction
Club Brugge 1-2 Arsenal
Club Brugge does not have a great record this season in the Champions League, as facing the table toppers will be a big task in itself. While they face a massive injury crisis at the moment, manager Leko can take solace from not having to deal with Arsenal’s main defenders in this clash, which opens the possibility of a goal being scored.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are the favourites despite having to deal with an injury crisis of their own at the moment. Arteta has the squad depth to deal with the current situation, as they are likely to take the three points and march towards guaranteeing a place in the top eight of the Champions League table.
