Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge collide in the UEFA Champions League knockout round play-offs on Wednesday.
Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid – Match preview and team news
- Date: Wednesday, 18th February.
- Kick-off: 8pm BST.
- Venue: Jan Breydelstadion, Brugge.
Club Brugge team news
Dani van den Heuvel and Lynnt Audoor are both doubtful for this match due to their respective knock and muscle injuries.
Hans Vanaken remains the creative heartbeat in midfield, while Carlos Forbs provides pace and trickery on the flanks, having contributed six goals and eight assists this campaign in all competitions.
Romeo Vermant will once again be expected to lead the line. He already has four goals in this season’s Champions League campaign so far.
Nicolo Tresoldi, who has 11 goals and four assists this season for the Belgian side across all competitions, is pushing for inclusion.
Atletico Madrid team news
Diego Simeone has confirmed that midfielder Pablo Barrios remains sidelined with a right thigh injury sustained earlier this month. Simeone stated: “There’s no substitute for Pablo. Johnny’s injury hurts us”.
Nicolas Gonzalez is also sidelined due to his muscle injury which will keep him out until March.
Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth are set to start while Antoine Griezmann might be introduced from the bench later on if required. January signing Ademola Lookman is in good form and will be eager to showcase his pace and attacking prowess once more.
Form
Club Brugge
Club Brugge will head into this crucial European tie in excellent form, having secured five wins from their last six competitive fixtures. Their most recent outing saw them defeat city rivals Cercle Brugge 2-1 away from home, with Nicolo Tresoldi and Carlos Forbs finding the net
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone’s men arrive in Belgium following a turbulent period. Despite an impressive 4-0 Copa del Rey demolition of Barcelona on February 12th, they suffered back-to-back La Liga defeats to Real Betis (0-1) and Rayo Vallecano (3-0). Their European form has been equally inconsistent. A 1-2 home defeat to Bodo/Glimt in their final league phase match saw them miss out on automatic qualification to the round of 16.
Predicted lineups
Club Brugge: Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, Seys; Stankovic, Onyedika, Vanaken; Forbs, Vermant, Diakhon
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Hancko, Pubill, Ruggeri; Lookman, Koke, Llorente, Simeone; Sorloth, Alvarez
How to watch Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid?
In the UK, Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid is being shown live on TNT (TNT Sports 3) and is also available to stream via discovery+ and the discovery+ app.
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