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

French side Lens travel to Belgium to take on Club Brugge at Jan Breydel Stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Both teams enter the latest round of League Phase fixtures having picked up three points from their opening two matches.

Match preview

After suffering a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa in their opening Champions League fixture, Club Brugge produced one of the upsets of matchday two as they beat Serie A champions Inter Milan 4-3 in a thrilling contest at San Siro last week.

In-demand Nicolo Tresoldi grabbed the headlines with a superb hat-trick – increasing his goal tally for the season to nine after 12 appearances – before Romeo Vermant added a fourth on a memorable night for Blauw-Zwart.

Brugge have certainly brought the entertainment factor to the Champions League, as their last six matches in the competition have produced 31 goals at an average of 5.17 per game. Meanwhile, each of their last 12 matches have seen a first-half goal scored, with six netted across their first two fixtures this term.

Head coach Ivan Leko successfully steered Brugge to their 20th Belgian top-flight title last season and they currently sit second in the table this term after winning seven of their opening eight league fixtures. They most recently beat Lokeren 1-0 in the last 32 of the Belgian Cup on Saturday.

Brugge head into Wednesday’s clash with Lens having won their last two matches against French opposition, both at home in the League Phase of the Champions League against Monaco in September 2025 (4-1) and Marseille in January this year (3-0).

Lens kick-started their fourth-ever Champions League campaign with a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory away against Slavia Prague last month. They fell behind in the 88th-minute to their opponents with 10 men but scored two stoppage-time goals to seal all three points in dramatic fashion.

Les Sang et Or were unable to post back-to-back wins, though, as they were beaten 2-0 at home to Sporting Lisbon last week, despite registering more shots (17), more shots on target (six), more possession (54%), more passes (526) and twice as many corners (six) than their Portuguese counterparts.

New head coach Yannick Cahuzac has alternated between defeat and victory in his first four games in charge since replacing Dino Toppmoller last month, with his Lens side returning to winning ways last weekend as they secured a 3-1 success over Troyes in Ligue 1.

Cahuzac believes that his team is “on the right track” after a shaky start to the campaign, with Lens sitting eighth in the Ligue 1 standings and only four points off the summit, while they are one of 13 teams out of 36 who have collected three points from their opening two Champions League matches.

Twenty-eight years to the day of Wednesday’s clash with Club Brugge, Lens won their first game in the Champions League proper – 1-0 at home to Panathinaikos in 1998 – and they are now bidding to record successive away wins in the competition having previously endured a run of 16 European matches on the road without a victory (D7 L9).

Club Brugge Champions League form:

Club Brugge form (all competitions):

Lens Champions League form:

Lens form (all competitions):

Team News

Club Brugge are still having to cope without centre-back Joel Ordonez as he continues to recover from a metatarsal fracture, while left-back Bjorn Meijer is also sidelined with s thigh problem.

Brandon Mechele will make his 50th appearance in the Champions League if he features in the heart of the defence on Wednesday. The 33-year-old would become only the second Club Brugge player to reach that mark after midfield maestro Hans Vanaken (62).

After making six changes at the weekend, Leko is set to revert to a stronger starting lineup that may include Kyriani Sabbe, Hugo Vetlesen, Carlos Forbs and star striker Tresoldi, who is the joint-top scorer in this season’s UCL with four goals.

As for Lens, Maik Nawrocki (knee) and Abdallah Sima (leg) remain out for extended periods due to injury, while Jonathan Gradit began individual training last week but is unlikely to be involved against Brugge.

Experienced captain Florian Thauvin has contributed to 12 goals (five goals, seven assists) in 10 appearances across all competitions this term and is set to take up an advanced central position alongside Junior Kadile, with Odsonne Edouard or Franjo Ivanovic leading the line.

Samson Baidoo will battle with Jean-Clair Todibo for a start at centre-back, while Amadou Haidara and Michael Cuisance could both be recalled at the expense of Yacine Titraoui and Andrija Bulatovic to start in centre-midfield.

Club Brugge possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Sabbe, Mechele, Spileers, Seys; Potts, Vetlesen; Forbs, Vanaken, Vergili; Tresoldi

Lens possible starting lineup:

Risser; Antonio, Ganiou, Baidoo; Abdulhamid, Cuisance, Haidara, Udol; Thauvin, Kadile; Ivanovic

We say: Club Brugge 2-1 Lens

Club Brugge have lost only one of the 13 Champions League home matches in which they have scored first (W10 D2), while Lens have led at half time in just one of their previous 20 UCL fixtures, so a fast start from the hosts could be in store here.

We expect goals at both ends of the pitch, but the hosts may ultimately have enough firepower to outscore their opponents and pick up all three points in an entertaining contest.

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