Champions League: Aston Villa v Club Brugge – Line-ups, stats and preview

Match Preview for Aston Villa v Club Brugge

Aston Villa welcome Club Brugge to Villa Park with the aim of booking their place in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The Villans have a two-goal advantage from the first leg, putting them in a strong position to see the tie through in front of a jubilant home crowd.

Unai Emery’s side brushed off memories of the 1-0 defeat to the Belgian side in the league phase with a 3-1 win at the same stadium in the knockout game, despite going 1-0 down.

Now, Villa are looking to reach the last eight in their debut season, matching the achievement last made by Atalanta in 2020.

Emery has only lost three of his last 19 home games in the Champions League across spells with four clubs.

It should give fans and the players confidence that they can book their spot against either Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain in the next round.

It is Brugge’s second-ever appearance in the knockout rounds of the competition, and they have a mountain to climb of they are to somehow stage a comeback and progress.

Another night in the Champions League at Villa Park 🔜 pic.twitter.com/EZPMACJ3yZ

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 11, 2025

Team news for Aston Villa v Club Brugge

Both Emiliano Martinez and Marco Asensio missed the trip to Brentford on Saturday and Emery is sweating on their fitness ahead of the return match at Villa Park.

Pau Torres recently returned from an ankle injury and will be hoping to compete with the likes of Tyrone Mings and Axel Disasi for a place in the starting XI.

Villa will remain without Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia with the pair not being registered for the knockout stages.

For Brugge, Joaquin Seys remains absent with a hamstring injury, as does Bjorn Meijer.

Captain Hans Vanaken is in line to make his 50th Champions League appearance on Wednesday night and will be hoping to mark it with a win.

Top scorer Ferran Jutgla will be hoping to add to his brace he netted a the weekend alongside Chemsdine Talbi, who has also been prolific in Europe.

Expected line-ups for Aston Villa v Club Brugge

Aston Villa: Martinez; Disasi, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins

Club Brugge: Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla

How to watch Aston Villa v Club Brugge: Channel, online stream

Aston Villa v Club Brugge will kick-off at 20:00 and is available to watch on on TNT Sports 2. Fans in the UK will also be able to stream the match on the discovery+ app.

Ready to go. 🛫 #AVLCLU #UCL pic.twitter.com/Y9pqjYY0LX

— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) March 11, 2025