Manchester United started their Champions League campaign this season with a bang. They welcomed the Belgian outfit, Club Brugge to Old Trafford last week and came out with a satisfying 3-1 result. But the Belgian club had its own moments when they could have easily been embarrassed by Brugge. However, their best performances so far this season was in this game and Louis van Gaal will urge his players to repeat it when they travel away to play the return leg.
The winners of the Belgian League last season showed glimpses of what they can do at Trafford but are still a long way away from matching the talent in the United squad. The club will need its fans to give their everything in this game and will want to intimidate the Red Devils away from home. This article is a preview of the Brugge vs United match. We have also included predictions and expected line-ups for the game.
The match will be played at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday the 26th of August. The kickoff is scheduled at 7:45 pm BST (Thursday 12:15 am IST).
Team News
Louis van Gaal will be confident for this trip to Belgium. He started Schweinsteiger in the match against Newcastle in the weekend. However, it is unsure if he will start ahead of the veteran Michael Carrick for this game. However, the manager still has a problem at the back with Phil Jones still unavailable for selection due to an injury.
Marcos Rojo, the Argentine will also miss out on a starting place due to lack of match fitness. For the home team, Timmy Simons who picked up a knock at Old Trafford will not be able to make the team after sustaining it. Brandon Mechele is not available for selection after he picked up two yellow cards in the first leg against United.
The weekend Premier League match for United was not something to remember as they held on to their first draw of the season against Newcastle United. They were disciplined at the back and creative in the attacking areas but often lacked the final ball. They did not do enough to penetrate the defensively set up Newcastle side and had to take only a point from the game.
They will not face the same challenge against Brugge, but the Jan Breydel Stadium provides an intimidating atmosphere. The job at hand is not easy but one that United is expected to see off. So this adds more pressure on the Red Devils who desperately need to get back into the Europe’s elite competition.
Club Brugge also showed promise in the first leg and one can only expect them to do better in their home ground. However, we saw them slowly crumble under pressure when United raised their game. They will have to make sure that they do not give space to players like Depay who made them pay in the last leg. A 2-0 victory is enough for the hosts to win the tie, but it is not going to be easy to achieve.
Expected line-ups
Club Brugge
Bruzzese, De Fauw, Castelleto, Duarte, De Bock, Oulare, Vormer, Vanaken; Diaby, Vazquez, De Sutter.
Manchester United
Sergio Romero, Shaw, Blind, Smalling, Darmian, Carrick, Herrera, Januzaj, Memphis, Rooney, Mata
Prediction:
United have a top class squad that can beat most teams in the top flight of Europe. Brugge will have to play out of their skin if they want to de-rail Manchester United and throw them out of the Champions League.
Our Prediction: Club Brugge 0-1 Manchester United
Odds:
Manchester United – 11/10
Brugge – 13/4
The draw – 137/50.