Preview:Club Brugge vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will be aiming to move onto nine points from four matches in the Champions League this season when they continue their league phase campaign with a clash against Club Brugge on Wednesday night.

The Catalan giants have six points to show from their first three games, which has left them in ninth spot in the overall table, while the Belgian side are down in 20th, boasting three points from their opening three matches.

Match preview

Club Brugge will enter Wednesday's game off the back of a 2-1 victory over Dender, with the result leaving them second in the Belgian Pro League table, three points behind the leaders Union SG.

Blauw-Zwart are on a run of three straight wins in all competitions, with their last defeat coming in the Champions League - a 4-0 reverse to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on October 22.

Nicky Hayden's side opened their Champions League league phase campaign with an excellent result, beating Monaco 4-1 on home soil, but they have since lost to Atalanta BC and Bayern in the competition, and three points have left them down in 20th spot in the overall table.

Club Brugge will face Sporting Lisbon, Arsenal, Kairat and Marseille in their final four Champions League matches in this particular stage, and they will certainly be targeting a playoff spot.

Blauw-Zwart actually made it to the last-16 stage of the 2024-25 Champions League, losing 6-1 on aggregate to Aston Villa, having overcome Atalanta in the knockout round playoffs.

Barcelona, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 3-1 victory over Elche, with the result moving them back into second spot in the La Liga table, five points behind division leaders Real Madrid.

The Catalan giants were Champions League semi-finalists last season, incredibly losing 7-6 on aggregate to Inter Milan, and they are considered to be among the favourites for the trophy this term.

However, Hansi Flick's side have already lost in the league phase, going down 2-1 at home to the holders Paris Saint-Germain at the start of October - two wins have also arrived in the competition this season against Newcastle United and Olympiacos, with six points from three games leaving them in ninth.

Barcelona's next European match after this one will be against Chelsea, while they will also tackle Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen before the league phase finishes.

There have been some issues for the Catalan side in the opening months of the campaign, but they will now be eyeing successive wins over Club Brugge and Celta Vigo ahead of the November international break.

Club Brugge Champions League form:

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Club Brugge form (all competitions):

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Barcelona Champions League form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Club Brugge will be without the services of four players through injury on Wednesday night, with Bjorn Meijer, Simon Mignolet, Ludovit Reis and Raphael Onyedika unavailable for selection.

Number two goalkeeper Nordin Jackers is therefore in line to continue between the sticks, while there will be a spot in the final third of the field for Christos Tzolis, who has scored eight goals and registered eight assists in 21 appearances in all competitions this term.

Tzolis has been comfortably Club Brugge's standout player this season, while there will be a spot through the middle for Nicolo Tresoldi, who has six goals and three assists to his name this term.

As for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo both made their injury returns against Elche on Sunday, and the pair will again be in the squad, but Joan Garcia is not quite ready to return despite featuring in training last week.

Andreas Christensen was able to complete a light training session on Monday, but the Denmark international is again set to miss out, with Barcelona being cautious when it comes to his recovery from a calf issue.

Lamine Yamal's ongoing groin problem is being managed - the 18-year-old should be named in the starting side against Club Brugge, but Gavi (knee), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back), Raphinha (hamstring) and Pedri (hamstring) are again unavailable for selection.

Pau Cubarsi was an unused substitute against Elche on Sunday, and the Spain international is now set to return to the starting side in the Champions League.

Club Brugge possible starting lineup:

Jackers; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, Seys; Forbs, Audoor, Stankovic, Vanaken, Tzolis; Tresoldi

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde; Casado, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; F Torres

We say: Club Brugge 1-2 Barcelona

Club Brugge thumped Monaco in their only home fixture in the Champions League this season, so we are expecting this to be a tricky match for Barcelona, but the La Liga champions have enough quality in their side to navigate their way to an important three points on Wednesday night.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.