Match Preview
Real Madrid will take on Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge for the first time at the Bernabéu since 1976. 43 years later, these two clubs meet in Madrid for the second round of fixtures in Group A on Tuesday.
Real’s first Champions League match of the season was the embarrassing 3-0 defeat to PSG in the French capital. Brugge drew with Galatasaray 0-0 in their first European match of the season.
Club Brugge currently lead the Belgian Pro League and have yet to concede defeat so far, much like Real Madrid in LaLiga. The Blauw-Zwart made two significant, high-priced transfers this season by adding forward David Okereke from Serie B side Spezia and former Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet.
Injuries/Suspensions
Real Madrid are still without Ferland Mendy and Marco Asensio due to injury. James is not in the released squad, he reportedly picked up a slight knock that will cause him to miss. Gareth Bale is being rested and is out of Tuesday’s squad. Rodrygo and Brahim are also missing from the squad. Marcelo and Isco have both been reinstated after recovering from injury.
Brugge will likely be without fullback Federico Ricca and midfielder Éder Balanta.
There are no suspensions for either side in Tuesday’s match.
Potential XIs
Real Madrid
Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, Hazard, Benzema
Zidane will likely go with a more full-strength squad on Tuesday as they do really need to get the win here. With such a substantial loss to PSG, they need to be able to capture three points in order to stay well-ahead of Brugge and Galatasaray. Which means Marcelo should slot right in to his spot at left back after recovering.
With Bale missing, we could see Lucas Vazquez get the start on the right side.
We will likely see Isco come on at some point as well after returning from injury as well as Vinicius and perhaps Valverde or Jovic.
Club Brugge
Mignolet; Mata, Mechele, Deli, Sobol; Vormer, Rits, Vanaken; Diatta, Okereke, Bonaventure
Prediction
Real Madrid—Club Brugge 4-0
Real Madrid have done a great job these last several league matches, maintaining a clean sheet in their last three. They’ve been quite good so far and have only really been dominated in the PSG loss.
With no disrespect, Club Brugge is a team Real Madrid should be more than capable of getting the win on Tuesday. This season, and most seasons really, Real are the clear favorites over a Belgian league side. That being said, Real need to bring their A-game if they want to make sure they capture all three points.
This would be a great match to see a Belgian like Hazard break out after looking a step behind since starting. It’s way too soon to starting getting concerned about his form, since this would only be his third start, but it would be great to see the Hazard we’ve all hoped to see shine here in a Champions League match.
Real are the favorites here but they need to make sure they don’t take Brugge lightly. They need these three points at home to recover from the PSG loss and remain competitive in Group A before any real worry arises.