Arsenal are close to qualifying for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, and to continue their perfect record, they will have to see off Club Brugge in Bruges.
Arsenal have been undoubtedly one of the best sides in the UCL and, largely, the world. They showed how good they were as a team when they beat Bayern Munich to maintain their perfect record in the UCL.
Coming into this round of fixtures, the Gunners suffered a devastating 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League courtesy of a last-minute goal from Emil Buendia. The Gunners will need to shake off that loss when they travel to Bruges to face Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Interestingly, Club Brugge sacked their head coach, Nicky Hayen, barely 48 hours before the Arsenal game, which means Ivan Leko will oversee his first game as head coach. Club Brugge have had a poor run of results both in the domestic league and the UCL. If they don’t get their acts right, they will be blown away by Arsenal.
Team News
Arsenal’s defence has been and continues to be decimated by injuries in December. Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) and Gabriel Magalhaes (thigh) are both out for a number of weeks, William Saliba (knock) remains a doubt, and Riccardo Calafiori was also seen limping towards the tunnel at Villa Park.
As for Club Brugge, Leko risks being without his two first-choice goalkeepers, as ex-Liverpool veteran Simon Mignolet (overstretching) and Nordin Jackers (rib fracture) both missed the weekend’s loss to St Truiden.
Centre-back Zaid Romero (back), midfield duo Lynnt Audoor (muscle) and Ludovit Reis (shoulder), and striker Romeo Vermant (concussion) complete a six-strong injury list for the hosts.
Club Brugge vs Arsenal Predicted XI
Club Brugge Predicted XI
Van den Heuvel; Siquet, Mechele, Ordonez, Seys; Stankovic, Onyedika; Forbs, Vanaken, Tzolis; Tresoldi
Arsenal Predicted XI
Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Nwaneri, Norgaard, Merino; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli
