Football
Aston Villa vs Club Brugge Preview, Prediction, Team News and Confirmed Lineups
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished12 Mar 2025
After a 3-1 win in the first leg, Aston Villa return to Champions League action for the second leg of their last 16 tie against Club Brugge on Wednesday, and our preview has the latest team news and lineups ahead of the action.
Aston Villa vs Club Brugge Preview
Having secured a 3-1 victory in last week’s first leg in Brussels, Aston Villa are back in Champions League action on Wednesday evening as they host Belgian champions Club Brugge in the second leg of their round of 16 tie.
The Villans raced to an early lead through Leon Bailey at the Jan Breydel Stadium, but the hosts struck back nine minutes later to restore the parity. Brandon Mechele then turned the ball into his own net on the 82-minute mark to reinstate Villa’s lead late on, before three-time Champions League winner Marco Asensio converted from the spot to seal the victory.
Since then, Unai Emery’s side have been in Premier League action, overcoming Brentford 1-0 on Saturday. The West Midlanders have now won three in succession across all competitions and are eighth in the English top-flight table.
Club Brugge, meanwhile, managed by former Haverfordwest boss Nicky Hayen, bounced back from their defeat in the first leg and ended a three-game winless run with a 3-1 win over local rivals Cercle Brugge on Sunday afternoon.
Heading into continental play, Blauw-Zwart occupy second place in the Belgian top-flight table, nine points adrift of leaders Genk and just one point clear of third place Union Saint-Gilloise. Of course, they have already beaten Aston Villa once this term, back on MD4 of the league phase, when they prevailed 1-0 courtesy of a Hans Vanaken penalty.
Aston Villa Team News
The Villans boast just one confirmed injury absentee for Wednesday’s clash, with Ross Barkley missing out due to a knee injury, while Emiliano Martinez (muscular), Marco Asensio (muscular) and Amadou Onana (thigh) are doubts.
Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia are also unavailable, as the pair have not been included in Villa’s knockout phase squad.
Club Brugge Team News
As for the visitors, they remain without Joaquin Seys (hamstring) and Bjorn Meijer (hamstring).
Spanish forward Ferran Jutgla, who has six goals and one assist in his last seven matches, should lead the line for Blauw-Zwart, likely ed in attack by Christos Tzolis and Chemsdine Talbi, with Vanaken in the number 10 role.
Aston Villa vs Club Brugge Confirmed Lineups
Aston Villa Lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins
Club Brugge Lineup:
Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedinka, Jashari; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla
Aston Villa vs Club Brugge Prediction
The UK’s best football betting sites are favouring Aston Villa to come out on top in the second leg at around 8/13, while a draw is rated at around 16/5 and a Club Brugge victory is priced at around 4/1.
We at SportsCasting agree with the bookmakers’ assessment and are backing the Villans to prevail at Villa Park, but only expect them to do so by a narrow margin to confirm their advancement to the quarter-finals.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-0 Club Brugge (4-1 aggregate)