Champions League | League Stage

Jan 21, 2025 at 8pm UK

Jan Breydelstadion

Brugge vs Juventus

Match preview

Unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions, winning 15 of them, Club Brugge resume their Champions League campaign in scintillating form, knowing that another midweek win will secure them a play-off spot at the very least.

The Blue-Whites have only failed to find the net once in their last 30 games, winning all but one of their last 11, and on Saturday they beat Beerschot 4-2 with Swedish striker Gustaf Nilsson scoring a brace.

A 2-1 home win over Genk in the first leg of their Belgian Cup semi-final last week also left them just one point behind their cup opponents in the Pro League, with a fifth league title in six years very much in their sights.

Perhaps the highlight of their purple patch was last time out against Sporting CP in the Champions League, when Casper Nielsen's late winner took them to 10 points from six games.

Nicky Hayen's side have already won Europe's top club competition three times this season, and only in one previous European Cup campaign have Brugge won more - five in 1977-78 en route to the final.

To keep their hopes of an unlikely top-eight finish alive, they will now be looking for Belgium's first Champions League success against Italian opposition since October 2003, when they defeated mighty AC Milan.

All four previous meetings between Club Brugge and Juventus have taken place in UEFA's top club competition, with the Serie A side winning on three occasions - although they lost on aggregate in the 1978 European Cup semi-finals.

Like their hosts on Tuesday, the Turin giants have proved hard to beat this season and remain unbeaten in the Italian top flight after a 2-0 win over Milan at the weekend: Timothy Weah and rising star Samuel Mbangula both scored after the break to avenge Juve's recent defeat in the Supercoppa Italiana.

The result came as a huge relief to under-fire coach Thiago Motta, whose side have drawn more than half of their 29 games in all competitions and have seen leads evaporate on no fewer than seven occasions.

As well as squandering a lead against Milan in the Supercoppa semi-final, Juventus had failed to convert from a winning position in each of their previous three league games - against Fiorentina, city rivals Torino in the Derby della Mole and then away to Atalanta BC.

The result leaves the Bianconeri 13 points behind Serie A leaders Napoli, but they are still in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League in 2024 after a 2-0 home win over a struggling Manchester City side.

Top scorer Dusan Vlahovic and utility man Weston McKennie both found the net as Motta's men climbed to 14th in the league standings on 11 points - just two away from automatic qualification for the last 16.

Recent Performance

Club Brugge Champions League form:LWLWDW

Club Brugge form (all competitions):WWDWWW

Juventus Champions League form:WWLDDW

Juventus form (all competitions):WDLDDW

Team News

Club Brugge coach Nicky Hayen welcomed back Joaquin Seys on Saturday as the young full-back returned from a hamstring injury, giving Bjorn Meijer and Belgium international Maxim De Cuyper more competition for a starting berth on the left.

Zaid Romero is still unavailable, however, while Danish winger Andreas Skov Olsen has signed for Wolfsburg and Philip Zinckernagel, Dedryck Boyata and Kamal Sowah have all been released.

Raphael Onyedika and experienced midfielder Hans Vanaken are expected to run the engine room for the hosts, with either Gustav Nilsson or Ferran Jutgla leading the line up front.

Meanwhile, Juventus could give Dusan Vlahovic his first start of 2025, with the Serbian striker coming on as a substitute in Saturday's win over Milan. Vlahovic has been directly involved in eight goals in 12 Champions League appearances.

However, Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz - who has a goal and an assist in the league this season - was forced off at half-time with an adductor injury, joining long-term absentees Arkadiusz Milik, Juan Cabal and Bremer on the sidelines.

Thiago Motta will be hoping to welcome back Francisco Conceicao after a four-match absence, although the tricky winger has hardly been missed as Club Brugge academy graduate Samuel Mbangula continues to impress in his rookie campaign.

Possible starting lineup

Club Brugge possible starting lineup:

Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari; Vetlesen, Vanaken, Skoras; Jutgla

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Di Gregorio; McKennie, Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Gonzalez, Koopmeiners, Mbangula; Vlahovic