MATCH RESCHEDULED: Club Brugge KV vs. Aston Villa ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
MATCH RESCHEDULED: Club Brugge KV vs. Aston Villa ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
Aston Villa head to Belgium in search of their fourth consecutive Champions League victory as Unai Emery’s side take on Club Brugge on Wednesday evening (5:45pm kick-off).
After beating BSC Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna, Villa are top of the league phase table, while only Liverpool have also won their first three fixtures. Villa come into the match on the back two defeats suffered against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup and then against Tottenham in the capital on Sunday.
Spurs overwhelmed Villa in the second half to recover a one-goal deficit and won 4-1. Villa face the daunting task of playing early Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday night before the November international break, so Wednesday’s match against Brugge gives Villa the chance to return to winning ways before then.
Emery will speak to the media on Tuesday night and will give an update on the team news, but Matty Cash is expected to be injured after picking up a calf issue in the defeat at Spurs. Ross Barkley has missed the last two matches through injury and will remain sidelined until after the international break.
Emi Martinez will continue in goal, but there could be a few changes in defence. Ezri Konsa will likely shuffle across to right-back due to Cash’s injury, while Ian Maatsen could also get the nod instead of Digne on the other side.
Considering the nature of the injury he suffered, Tyrone Mings was excellent on his return to action last week against Palace. Because Villa have made a perfect start in the Champions League, Emery may feel inclined to give him a start against Brugge rather than at Anfield, for example.
Paul Torres plays a crucial role in Villa’s structure and if Emery wants to find out if both left-footed centre-backs can operate effectively as a pair, then the match at Brugge could be an opportunity to try it out.
Boubacar Kamara has also shown promising signs after making his comeback from an ACL injury. A start against Liverpool may be more likely as he may not be able to play two matches in the space of a few days just yet. Belgian internationals Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans could therefore continue in the double pivot.
Leon Bailey has struggled for form at the start of the campaign, but he’ll regain some confidence if he can score his first goal of the season at Brugge. John McGinn could then play from the left to keep some balance while Maatsen bombs down the flank. Jacob Ramsey appeared to cramp up in the second half against Tottenham.
Morgan Rogers wanted to continue against Spurs, but Emery elected to take him off anyway. He should be fine to start. Leading the line could be Jhon Duran, who scored against Bologna and Bayern, while he also saw a goal ruled out against Young Boys.
Aston Villa predicted XI : Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Torres, Maatsen, Onana, Tielemans, Bailey, McGinn, Rogers, Duran.
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