Get the preview for the crucial Champions League showdown between Club Brugge and a determined Barcelona side fighting for their spot in the next round.
Barcelona travel to the Jan Breydelstadion on Wednesday to face Club Brugge in Champions League action, aiming to secure a vital third win in four league phase matches.
The Catalan giants, currently sitting ninth in the overall table with six points, view this match as a critical step toward achieving the five-win benchmark often considered enough to guarantee safe passage to the knockout stages, according to FotMob reporting.
Hansi Flick’s side enters the contest having bounced back from their recent El Clásico defeat with a 3–1 La Liga victory over Elche at the weekend. Despite their return to winning ways, the manager continues to battle a persistent injury crisis, with key players like Marc-André ter Stegen, Pedri, Gavi, and Raphinha all unavailable.
Robert Lewandowski is expected to make his first start since early October, while the in-form Marcus Rashford, who has four goals in three European matches, will be crucial to the attack.
The predicted starting XI for Barcelona includes Szczęsny; Koundé, Cubarsí, Eric García, Balde; Casadó, De Jong; Yamal, Fermín López, Rashford; and Ferran Torres.
Club Brugge, led by Nicky Hayen, started their European campaign superbly with a 4–1 dismantling of Monaco, but consecutive defeats to Atalanta and Bayern Munich have left them down in 20th place. Their return home is seen as a decisive moment in their campaign.
While their home attacking patterns have been fluent, averaging 3.6 goals across their last five UEFA home matches, analysis suggests FotMob’s prediction that “defensive lapses away from the city have exposed structural imbalances.”
Key player Christos Tzolis, a constant creative threat, will be tasked with exploiting Barcelona’s left flank. The hosts will be without goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, left-back Bjorn Meijer, and holding midfielder Raphael Onyedika due to injury.
The historical record favors the Spanish side, who have won both previous Champions League meetings against Brugge in the 2002/03 season.
FotMob’s prediction for the match suggests that “It might not be such a steamrollering, but if Bayern can beat Brugge by four then it’s likely Barcelona can get the job done too.” The suggested final score is Club Brugge 1-3 Barcelona.