Manchester United will take a 3-1 lead into the second leg of their Champions League playoff against Belgian side Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Michel Preud'homme's team took the lead at Old Trafford in the first leg last week, but a double from Memphis Depay and a late Marouane Fellaini header ensured that the Premier League side would take a two-goal lead into the return match in Belgium.
Club Brugge
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Entering stoppage time of the first leg last week, Preud'homme would have been delighted with the result as it stood. Blauw-Zwart would have had to come from behind in the tie, but a 2-1 defeat away from home in Europe is far from a disaster.
Fellaini's late, late header, however, has placed an entirely different complexion on the tie. Club Brugge have already overcome a strong Panathinaikos side to advance to the playoff stage of this competition, but they will need a big performance to continue their journey.
Club Brugge have not competed in the group stages of the Champions League since the 2005-06 season, and second place in the Belgian league last term meant that they had to enter Europe's premier competition at an early stage this time around.
Defeat at Old Trafford in the first leg was not all that surprising considering they had lost on nine of their previous 11 trips to England, but they are unbeaten in their last 10 European home games. Meanwhile, they have a strong home record against English opposition, winning six of their nine matches and losing just once.
Thirteen-time winners of the Belgian league, Club Brugge are also the only Belgian team to have played in the final of a European Cup – that occurred in 1978, when they lost to Liverpool.
The Belgian outfit are currently five games into their new league season, but they will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Zulte-Waregem at the weekend. That result has left them sixth in the table on seven points.
There is no question that Club Brugge will enter the second leg as firm underdogs, especially considering that they need to overturn a two-goal deficit. However, an early goal would leave the supporters dreaming of a famous victory over the Premier League outfit.
Recent form: DDLLWL
Recent form (all competitions): WWDWLL
Manchester United
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Failure to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, especially after what occurred in the first leg, would be an absolute disaster for the Red Devils, who missed out on Champions League football last season for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign.
It has been a strong start to the campaign for Louis van Gaal's side, with seven points collected from their first three Premier League matches. They could only muster a point at home to Newcastle United at the weekend, however, which brought criticism from a number of sectors.
Man United have won all four of their previous Champions League qualifying ties, however, their last being a 6-0 aggregate victory over Debrecen in the 2005-06 season. Three-time winners of the Champions League, a return to Europe's premier competition was on the agenda for Van Gaal last season and fourth position ensured that they had the chance to qualify through the playoffs.
That said, Man United have actually lost their last two European away matches by two-goal margins. They were beaten 2-0 at Olympiacos in the 2013-14 round of 16, before losing 3-1 at Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. Incredibly, they have only won one of their last seven European away games.
What's more, the Premier League outfit have lost their last two games in Belgium. That, coupled with Club Brugge's strong home form against English opposition suggests that this tie is far from complete, despite the two-goal separation that is currently in force.
Man United did score three times in the first leg last week, but have only managed two goals in their three league matches thus far this season, which has opened up more talk that a new striker is needed before the transfer window slams shut. Failure to make it through this tie would make that task extremely difficult.
Recent form: WLWDLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWWD
Team News
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Club Brugge were missing a number of key players for the first leg last week and the likes of Felipe Gedoz, Lior Refaelov, Thomas Meunier, Bernie Ibini-Isei, Bjorn Engels and Nicolas Castillo are all reportedly still struggling for fitness.
Brandon Mechele will also miss out through suspension having picked up a red card at Old Trafford, but the Belgian outfit do not have any fresh injury concerns, which could mean a similar XI to the first leg last week.
Skipper Timmy Simons was not involved at the weekend after limping out of the first leg, but is expected to be fit to start in the middle of the park.
As for Man United, David de Gea is once again absent after being left out of the travelling squad.
Antonio Valencia and Phil Jones will also both miss out, but the 18-man travelling squad did include Bastian Schweinsteiger, who limped out of Saturday's home draw against Newcastle.
Van Gaal is not expected to make sweeping changes to his XI, but Ander Herrera is said to be pushing for a start ahead of Adnan Januzaj, while Fellaini is once again available.
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Bruzzese; Cools, Duarte, Castelletto, De Bock; Vormer, Simons; Dierkx, Vasquez, Oulare; Diaby
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Romero; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw; Schneiderlin, Carrick, Herrera; Depay, Rooney, Mata
Head To Head
The first leg in Manchester was the first time that these two sides had met in European competition.
We say: Club Brugge 1-1 Manchester United
If the score had remained 2-1 last week, Club Brugge would have really fancied their chances. The third goal has made it very difficult, however, and it is a big ask for the home team.
Man United, as mentioned, have struggled away from home in Europe in recent years and face a tough task to record a victory in Belgium.
Ultimately, we believe that the Premier League side will have more than enough to claim a score draw and indeed progress into the group stages of the competition.
Matt Law
