Overview
Club Brugge entered this match in high spirits after a 2-1 victory over Dender. This result helped them rise to second place in the Belgian national championship, only three points behind leaders Union SG.
Coach Nicky Hayden's team is maintaining stable performance with 3 consecutive wins in all competitions. Their most recent defeat was a 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on 22 October.
Blauw-Zwart started their Champions League group stage campaign impressively, defeating Monaco 4-1 at home, but then lost to Atalanta and Bayern. Club Brugge have now won just three points and are temporarily relegated to 20th in the table.
In the remaining four matches, Club Brugge will face Sporting Lisbon, Arsenal, Kairat and Marseille - direct opponents in the race for a place in the Champions League play-off round.
The Belgian team has reason to be confident, as last season they reached the round of 16 of the 2024-2025 Champions League. They only stopped against Aston Villa with a total score of 1-6 after defeating Atalanta in the knockout round.
Barcelona also have a high opinion after the 3-1 victory over Elche, helping them return to second place in La Liga, only 5 points behind Real Madrid.
The Catalan team reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, where they stopped Inter Milan with a regrettable total score of 6-7. This season, Hansi Flick's team continues to be considered one of the leading candidates for the championship.
However, Barcelona had an imperfect start to the group stage when they lost 1-2 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in early October. However, two victories against Newcastle United and Olympiacos helped them earn 6 points after 3 matches, temporarily ranking 9th on the rankings.
After the match against Club Brugge, Barcelona will have an important series of matches, respectively against Chelsea, Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen before the group stage ends.
Despite some difficulties in the early stages of the season, Flick's team is gradually regaining form and stability. Their immediate goal is to beat Club Brugge and Celta Vigo before the November international break.
Personnel situation
Club Brugge will not have the services of 4 key players due to injuries in the match against Barcelona. The absentees include Bjorn Meijer, Simon Mignolet, Ludovit Reis and Raphael Onyedika - names that significantly influenced Nicky Hayden's squad.
Setter Nordin Jackers will continue to start, while Christos Tzolis will take on the key attacking role. In addition, Nicolo Tresoldi, who has scored 6 goals and had 3 assists this season, is expected to play an important role in the midfield.
On the other side of the front line, Barcelona received good news when Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo returned to play in the victory over Elche last weekend. Both are likely to continue to be in the starting lineup. However, Joan Garcia is not ready to return despite practicing with the team last week.
Andreas Christensen is also in better physical condition after a light training session, but Flick still decided to give him an extra break to ensure the recovery process from the calf injury. Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal is undergoing treatment for a groin injury but is likely to return to the starting lineup.
Expected lineup:
Brugge Clubge: Jackers, Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, Seys, Forbs, Audoor, Stankovic, Vanaken, Tzolis, Tresoldi.
Barcelona: Szczesny, Kounde, Cubarsi, E. Garcia, Balde, Casado, De Jong, Yamal, Fermin, Rashford, F. Torres.
The match between Club Brugge and Barcelona takes place at 3:00 am on November 6 (Vietnam time).
