Who: Club Brugge vs Barcelona
What: Champions League group stage
Where: Jan Breydel Stadium, Brugge, Belgium
When: Wednesday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
While Barcelona are very much the favourites against Club Brugge, the hosts boast an unbeaten record at home this season, having won six and drawn one of their seven games at Jan Breydel Stadium.
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The Belgian side recorded an impressive 4-1 win over Monaco earlier in the group stage although defeats to Atalanta and Bayern Munich have left them with just three points.
On the domestic front, Club Brugge are currently second in the Belgian Pro League, trailing league leaders Union Saint-Gilloise by three points, and secured a 2-1 home win over Denders at the weekend.
Barcelona have six points from their Champions League games so far this season with victories over Newcastle United and Olympiacos either side of a 2-1 defeat to European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal scored early as Barcelona rebounded from their Clasico defeat by beating Elche 3-1 at home on Sunday to regain second place in the Spanish league.
Barcelona bounce back
Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford also scored for Barcelona against Elche, a week after they lost 2-1 at Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season.
“I saw many things we did well, but I also saw some we didn’t do well,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said after the win over Elche, in which Barca were dominant but looked vulnerable to counterattacks.
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“It was a tough match, but it meant the three points were earned. We have to improve. We are more confident with this victory. It is another step, but we have to continue. I am happy, and we have to think positively about the games to come.”
Flick wants Rashford to be more clinical
Rashford has scored six goals in all competitions since moving to Barcelona on loan from Manchester United in July, but Flick thinks the England international should have scored even more.
“When you see the chances he has, I think one or two goals more will be good, also for him,” Flick told reporters.
“I know that he can play on this level, and I am happy he shows it. For the fans and for the club and also for the teammates, he is a very important player.”
Rashford acknowledged that he has room to improve his decision-making.
“I just try to do the right things on the pitch. Even today, I could have had more assists or goals. Sometimes, the decision to shoot or pass was wrong,” the 28-year-old told Spanish media after the win over Elche.
Hayen says Brugge can’t give ball away cheaply to Barca
Club Brugge’s 45-year-old coach, Nicky Hayen, joined as caretaker boss during the 2023-2024 season, and he has since won three trophies – the 2023-2024 league title, the Belgian Super Cup in 2025 and the Belgian Cup last season.
Brugge also reached the last 16 of the Champions League last season, where they were knocked out 6-1 on aggregate by Aston Villa.
After the weekend win over Denders, Hayen praised his side’s “ideas and intentions” but said “the quality was not always top notch”, adding that the Belgian side will have to raise their game significantly to defeat Barcelona.
“We could have made it easier on ourselves by scoring that third goal. Moreover, we gave away some balls, which you should avoid at all costs when you play Barcelona next Wednesday,” he said.
Barca and Club Brugge have faced each other on only two occasions. Barcelona won both games, which were in the group stage of the 2002-2003 Champions League.
Barcelona won 1-0 away in Bruges the last time the sides met, courtesy of a goal by Juan Riquelme.
Barca had triumphed 3-2 in the previous game at Camp Nou.
Club Brugge’s team news
Ex-Liverpool and Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet has been ruled out with a groin injury while midfielder Ludovit Reis is also set to miss out due to a shoulder problem.
Nigerian international midfielder Raphael Onyedika came off the bench against Denders over the weekend after spending five weeks out injured but may still not be fit enough to start.
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Club Brugge’s main attacking trio of Christos Tzolis, Nicolo Tresoldi and Carlos Forbs could cause Barca some issues. The young Greek international winger Tzolis has scored eight goals and has eight assists across all competitions this season while striker Tresoldi has six goals and three assists to his name.
Tresoldi said before facing Barca that he was looking forward to facing one of his heroes.
“[Veteran striker Robert] Lewandowski is one of my idols. I’m most looking forward to playing against him,” he said.
Barcelona’s team news
Winger Raphinha remains out with a hamstring problem, and key midfielder Pedri is expected to be unavailable until after the November international break due to a muscular problem.
Goalkeepers Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Joan Garcia are also sidelined with injury, but fortunately, Barca are able to rely on the excellent Wojciech Szczesny between the sticks.
Centre back Andreas Christensen was not in the squad for the past two games due to a calf issue, and he remains a doubt for Wednesday night.
Lewandowski and playmaker Dani Olmo got some minutes off the bench against Elche as they recover from injuries and are likely to again be among the substitutes against Brugge.
Club Brugge’s predicted starting lineup
Jackers; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, Meijer; Stankovic; Forbs, Audoor, Vanaken, Tzolis; Tresoldi
Barcelona’s predicted starting lineup
Szczesny; Kounde, Eric Garcia, Araujo, Balde; Casado, de Jong; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; Ferran