Manchester City vs Club Brugge (UEFA Champions League): Match Preview, Team News, Stats, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City will look to keep their continental dreams alive as they welcome Club Brugge to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night on the final matchday of the league phase.

It appears as though the Citizens’ struggles in the UEFA Champions League this season may have caught up with them as they sit on the verge of elimination entering into the last day of league phase play in the new format.

Their last match in the competition was yet another display of their struggles that have been long-standing throughout the season, throwing away a 0-2 lead in the second-half to Paris Saint-Germain and losing the contest 4-2 against Luis Enrique’s side.

The Sky Blues would go on to bounce back in their Premier League match against Chelsea, leapfrogging Enzo Maresca’s squad into fourth place after a 3-1 comeback win, in a match that also saw the full debuts of Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush.

As for Club Brugge, the Belgian outfit come into the match off the back of a draw against Italian giants Juventus, securing them an 11th point of the competition, and placing them 20th in the table – which would be enough to send them through to the play-offs.

The stakes for the English side are simple however; win the match, and Manchester City move on into the knock-out stages albeit having to do so via a last-16 play-off tie. Should City lose, they would be eliminated from the competition!

Match Details

The contest between Manchester City and Club Brugge will take place on Wednesday 29 January, with kick-off at the Etihad Stadium scheduled for 20:00 (UK).

Match Officials

UEFA have confirmed this week that Spanish match official, José María Sánchez has been appointed as the match referee for the meeting between Manchester City and Club Brugge.

You can find the full list of match referees for the contest at the Etihad Stadium below!

Team News

Despite appearing in the match against Chelsea over the weekend, the aforementioned Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush, as well as Vitor Reis, will all be ineligible for Wednesday night’s clash as they cannot be registered at this stage of the competition.

Joining the three recent January transfer window signings on the sidelines and away from matchday action will be Jeremy Doku, who is set to be ruled out for “a while”, according to Pep Guardiola.

“I don’t know how much. But a while,” said the Catalan during a recent press conference. “He will not be ready for Wednesday for sure, I don’t think, for Arsenal, we’ll see.”

There is also the expectation that a central defensive duo of Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake will not be present as neither player trained on Tuesday afternoon, while Rodri remains a longer-term absentee.

Oscar Bobb could yet return however, as the Norwegian forward closes in on the completion of a five-month recovery process with Wednesday night’s game, the weekend’s trip to Arsenal, or next week’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Leyton Orient eyed as potential return dates.

Head to Head

In their previous two meetings across all competitions, which both fell during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League campaign, Manchester City blew through the Belgian side 9-2 on aggregate across their two matches in the group stage.

Statistics

Manchester City won both of their previous meetings with Club Brugge, winning 5-1 away and 4-1 at home during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Club Brugge have never won away to English opposition in European competition in 14 previous attempts (D2 L12 – qualifiers included); only RSC Anderlecht (19 games) and Dynamo Kyiv (15 games) have played more such games without ever recording a win in England.

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 33 UEFA Champions League matches at the Etihad (W28 D5), although three of their last four have ended as stalemates, losing a three-goal lead against Feyenoord to draw 3-3 last time out.

Failure to win this game will see Manchester City eliminated from the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s side have thrown away two 2+ goal leads in the competition this term (3-3 vs Feyenoord, 2-4 vs PSG) – the only side to do so in three games in a single European Cup campaign were Reims in the inaugural edition in 1955/56.

Club Brugge are unbeaten in their last four matches in the UEFA Champions League (W2 D2), while only once previously have they had a longer run without defeat within the same European Cup/Champions League campaign (five games in 1976/77).

How to Watch

Viewers in the United Kingdom can view Wednesday’s clash on TNT Sports 2.

Viewers in the United States can view the match on Paramount+, with kick-off slated for 3:00 p.m. EST.

You can find full global TV listings for the match here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!