Club Brugge vs Manchester City
Club Brugge and Manchester City go head-to-head in an exciting UEFA Champions League Group A showdown at the Jan Breydel Stadion.
After holding a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side to a 1-1 draw on Matchday 1, Club Brugge went on to pick up a stellar 2-1 away win over RB Leipzig last time out. Heading into this gameweek, the Belgian heavyweights sit joint-top of Group A and are unbeaten in their last seven matches across all competitions (W4, D3). Undefeated in four consecutive Champions League group stage fixtures (W2, D2), the ‘Blauw-Zwart’ could rack up five straight such games without losing for only the second time in the club’s history. However, since defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the Cup Winners’ Cup in February 1995, Club Brugge have gone winless in their last 13 European clashes against English opposition (D3, L9), which could be a massive concern going into this encounter.
On the other hand, Manchester City had started their Group A campaign with an overwhelming 6-3 home victory over Leipzig but subsequently succumbed to a 2-0 away loss to PSG. The ‘Citizens’ boss Pep Guardiola has only once lost back-to-back Champions League games on the road in his illustrious managerial history, doing so in 2014/15 during his time at Bayer Munich. Despite winning six of their seven European fixtures against Belgian opponents (L1), it’s worth noting that this is Man City’s first such match-up since October 2003. Worryingly, though, the reigning Premier League holders have kept just one clean sheet across their last seven Champions League outings, having done so seven times in a row beforehand. Moreover, after winning two straight competitive away games ‘to nil,’ they’ve now failed to win their last two competitive travels (D1, L1), conceding precisely twice on each occasion.