Champions League V: Club Brugge KV

Champions League V
Club Brugge KV
~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~​

Nicholas Kuhn scored twice against RB Leipzig in Celtic's most recent Champions League outing

Celtic Park, Glasgow
Wednesday, 27 November 2024
20.00 GMT

Celtic's attention next turns back to the Champions League on Wednesday evening, when they host reigning Belgian champions, Club Brugge.

The Hoops are coming into this on the back of an assured 2nd half performance to defeat Hearts, 4-1, on Saturday evening at Tynecastle, which sent Brendan Rodgers’ side 3 points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership table.

Even more impressive was the mature display in the 3-1 win against RB Leipzig in the previous round of the Champions League, as the standings begin to take shape and the battle for qualifying for the knockout phases intensifies.​

The Bhoys celebrate with Adam Idah as the Irishman scored twice from off the bench against Hearts


Who are Club Brugge KV?

Founded in 1891, Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging are one of Belgium's most successful clubs, having won the League title 19 times in total - including in 3 of the past 4 seasons.

More recently, Club Brugge reached the Final 4 of last season's UEFA Conference League, where they were eventually knocked out by Italian side, Fiorentina, in the Semi-Final.

Remarkably, this will be the first time that these two clubs will meet in any European competition, and the first time in more than 30 years that Club Brugge will line up against any Scottish side.


Kyogo slots home past former Celt, Craig Gordon to open the scoring in the 4-1 win v Hearts

So far in the Champions League this season, the Belgian side have gone down to Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, however they have earned 6 points through victories against Austrlan side, Sturm Graz, and most recently causing a bit of an upset over Aston Villa, courtesy of a bizarre handball incident resulting in a penalty, as Brugge held on to win, 1-0.

One contest to keep a particular eye on with be between the two captains, as Callum McGregor squares off against opposite number, Hans Veneken. Both are experienced leaders as well as being vastly influential and critical in how their respective teams operate.

Elsewhere, Greek winger Cristos Tzolis comes into this game also in hot form, having scored 4 times in the 7-0 victory over Sintt-Truidense at the weekend, as Club Brugge, currently sitting in 2nd, look to chase down current Jupiter Pro-League leaders, Genk.


Club Brugge captain and influential midfielder Hans Vanaken has 6 goals & 7 assists this season

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops are undefeated at home across all competitions since December 2023.​
• Celtic have conceded just 2 goals in their past 7 games across all comps.​
• The Belgian visitors are currently on a 6 game unbeaten streak (W5 D1).​

​

Team News

Brendan Rodgers once again has a strong squad to pick from, with just fringe midfielder Odin Thiago Holm sidelined. It will be no surprise if he elects to continue with the partnership of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Austin Trusty in the heart of defence, while Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah both offer something different in attack, so it will be naturally interesting to see which the manager opts for tomorrow evening.

As for the visitors, Bjorn Meijer (thigh) and Gustafson Nilsson (Achilles) remain out, however it is expected that the trio of Ferran Jutgla, Andreas Olsen and Joel Ordonez will be fit and available.​

While Nicky Hayen has primarily favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation this season, depending on the opposition there are times when it is more of a 4-3-3 when sitting more compact defensively and look to hit on the counter.

Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)

The experienced Bulgarian has a reputation for discipline on the pitch, having issued 35 bookings in addition to 3 reds in his previous 7 Champions League games. Celtic have won their only previous match when Kabakov has officiated - a 3-0 Europa League Qualifier against FK Suduva Marijampole, in 2018.​

Celtic's Overall Record
M:1 W:1 D:0 L:0

VAR: Dragomir Draganov




~~~~ Against All Belgian Opposition ~~~~

Overall
P:8 W:4 D:1 L:3

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
W W W W W ~ W D W W W​