Club Brugge vs Aston Villa analysis: Five key players and score prediction
Club Brugge are set to host an Aston Villa side hurting after some disappointing performances of late, including exiting the Carabao Cup to Crystal Palace before being dismantled 4-1 by Tottenham in the league.
Club Brugge are one of the top teams in Belgium and currently occupy second place in the Belgian Pro League table.
When it comes to competing in Europe, however, the Belgian side have won only one of their three Champions League games so far, although they have had to face European giants such as AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
On the other hand, Aston Villa are looking to bounce back after a heavy defeat to an impressive Tottenham team, who had looked evenly matched on paper before the game played out differently.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Harrison Pearce looks at five Aston Villa players who need to find their form again if they have any hope of beating the Belgians.
Emiliano Martinez
Two-time Yashin Trophy winner Emiliano Martinez has not been at his best this season, even though he recently picked up the award for a second time.
After conceding four goals against Tottenham at the weekend, the Argentine will want to make amends against Club Brugge on Wednesday evening.
Martinez certainly was not to blame for all the goals against Spurs, as it could well be argued that his defensive team-mates massively let him down, especially for the first and third goals. But he will nevertheless be in the hunt for a clean sheet in the midweek game.
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Matty Cash
Matty Cash had a difficult game against Tottenham as Son Heung-min caused him all sorts of problems right up until they both got subbed off.
Cash was pulled from left to right by the South Korean, with Amadou Onana having to cover the Polish international on more than a few occasions.
Tottenham’s equaliser eventually came down that right-hand side when Son put the ball onto a plate for Brennan Johnson to finish easily.
Looking ahead, this could be a defining season for Cash after Villa were previously linked with Feyenoord right-back Lutsharel Geertruida in the summer transfer window.
Pau Torres
The transformation of Aston Villa’s defence over the last couple of seasons is largely down to Pau Torres, who is usually at the heart of his side’s attacking play, but the Spanish centre-back just could not find his passing rhythm on Sunday.
In the second half, Torres uncharacteristically gave away some loose balls under pressure from the Spurs midfield, meaning that he now needs to rediscover his forward-thinking game quickly.
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John McGinn
The skipper is usually full of life, running into tackles and fighting for every ball for his team, but he was notably lacklustre on the right wing against Tottenham.
This might be down to the fact that McGinn is not fully match-fit after missing a few games through injury.
Aston Villa supporters, however, will be desperate to see the Scotland international back to his tenacious best — when he is, the Villans usually come out victorious.
Ollie Watkins
Even though Ollie Watkins had already scored five goals and laid on three assists this season in the Premier League, he was very quiet in north London.
The star striker must find his scoring boots if he wants to continue Villa’s great run in the Champions League, where they have won three out of three and currently sit top of the table.
Score prediction: Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa
