Club Brugge vs Aston Villa tips
Aston Villa make the trip to Club Brugge on Wednesday looking to make it four wins from four in their first season in the Champions League (5:45pm, TNT Sports and Discovery+ app).
Unai Emery’s side are one of only two with a 100 per cent record in the competition and they currently sit ahead of Liverpool on goal difference and two points clear of third-placed Manchester City.
They followed up their 3-0 win at the home of Young Boys with a result that surprised many - a 1-0 win over German giants Bayern Munich at Villa Park.
Last time out they beat Bologna 2-0, so understandably they will go into this game in Belgium full of confidence and betting sites have them as favourites for the win at 23/20, while you can find odds of 23/10 for the hosts to secure a second win of the campaign.
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa prediction: Will visitors ease past Belgian outfit?
Emery’s side go into this one on their worst run of the season so far with two defeats and one draw from their last three games in all competitions.
Villa’s draw with Bournemouth looks a solid result in hindsight following the Cherries’ victories both Arsenal and Manchester City.
However, they followed that result with a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace to exit the EFL Cup and were then on the receiving end of a 4-1 drubbing by Tottenham at the weekend, despite leading at half-time.
Club Brugge on the other hand go into the match with four wins from their last five games but they have just three points from their three Champions League matches.
They were beaten 3-0 at home by Borussia Dortmund in their opening match, before beating Sturm Graz 1-0 at their Liebenauer Stadium. In their last outing, they were on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline at AC Milan, after Raphael Onyedika was sent off after just 40 minutes.
This is the first meeting between these two sides and Villa’s first against Belgian opposition since 1982, but Villa boss has faced Belgian opponents four times before in the Champions League, winning three and drawing one and keeping a clean sheet on each occasion.
He has won his last three games against Belgian sides by an aggregate score of 16-0 (Valencia 7-0 Genk in 2011, Anderlecht 0-4 PSG and PSG 5-0 Anderlecht both in 2017). The signs look fairly promising for Emery and his team to continue their impressive Champions League form.
Brugge have lost their last three home Champions League matches, failing to score and conceding nine goals along the way.
Villa in direct contrast have won their first three Champions League matches without conceding a single goal. Only three teams have won their first four games in that fashion: Milan in 1993, PSG in 1994 and Juventus in 1995.
Whether Brugge can bring an end to Villa’s 100 per cent record will depend on which side turns up, because in their last 15 Champions League matches, they have either conceded 2+ goals (nine games, 35 conceded) or kept a clean sheet (six games).
Based on Aston Villa’s impressive record of 26 goals and scoring in 13 out of 15 games this season, combined with Club Brugge’s poor home form in the Champions League (winning only three of their last 21 matches, drawing six and losing 12), we’re backing Villa to emerge victorious on Wednesday.
Odds of 11/4 are available on football betting sites for Villa to close out their fourth win in a row in the Champions League, while keeping a clean sheet in the process.
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa prediction: Villa to win to nil - 11/4 Betfred
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