After winning their first two Champions League matches of the season, Club Brugge can take a huge step towards the knockout round against Atletico Madrid.
The Pro League champions have been one of the teams of the tournament so far, following a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen up with a winning 4-0 victory in Porto.
Those results leave them three points clear at the top of the group, with Atletico three points behind having beaten Porto and lost to Leverkusen.
If Club Brugge can avoid defeat against their Spanish opponents, they’ll be comfortably inside the top two with three matches to go, a minimum of three points clear of third place and a minimum of four clear of fourth.
That would give them an excellent chance of making it into the knockout rounds of the Europa League at the very least, and maybe even the Champions League.
The momentum is certainly with them, with them winning eight out of their last nine matches while Atleti have two out of their last three.
Team news
Their task will be made more difficult by the fact that they won’t be able to play their strongest starting XI though.
Dedryck Boyata is still unavailable due to a knee injury, as is key player Andreas Skov Olsen who is suffering from food poisoning.
However, Noa Lang is fit to play after returning from a long-term injury, although probably not fit enough to start.
Jose Gimenez and Stefan Savic should be fit to play for Atleti after recovering from injuries, but Serge Reguilon remains unavailable.
Likely Club Brugge lineup: Mignolet; Mata, Mechele, Sylla, Meijer; Nielsen, Onyedika, Vanaken; Buchanan, Sowah, Jutglá
Likely Atletico Madrid lineup: Oblak; Molina, Savić, Giménez, Reinildo; Llorente, Koke, Witsel, Saúl, Cunha; Morata.
Finley Crebolder
