Aiming to book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals, Aston Villa welcome Club Brugge to Birmingham on Wednesday, starting the second leg of the sides' last-16 tie with a two-goal advantage.
After Brugge's late implosion in Belgium, Villa are certainly in the driving seat, and they must now try to finish the job at Villa Park.
Match preview
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Casting off any clouds from a 1-0 league-phase loss in Bruges earlier this season, Aston Villa sprinted into an early lead last week, as Leon Bailey emphatically opened the scoring.
Maxim De Cuyper soon levelled for the home side, and neither team could seize full control thereafter; yet, Brandon Mechele clumsily netted an 82nd-minute own goal before Brugge winger Christos Tzolis gifted Villa a penalty just a few minutes later.
Continuing his hot streak in front of goal, substitute Marco Asensio then tucked away his spot kick to put the visitors 3-1 up heading into this week's return leg in England's second city.
Villa are now looking to become the first team to reach the Champions League quarter-finals in their debut season since Atalanta BC back in the 2019-20 campaign - they would also be the first English club to do so since Leicester City eight years ago.
As Unai Emery has lost only three of his last 19 home games in Europe's top tournament - across spells with four different clubs, including four so far at Villa - their Basque boss certainly knows how to make home advantage pay.
Following a prolonged sticky spell, Emery's men have recently won their last three games across all competitions, helping them put one foot in the Champions League's last eight - where they would meet either Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain - and qualify for the FA Cup quarter-finals.
On Saturday evening, they inched back up a packed Premier League table by virtue of Ollie Watkins scoring the winner against old club, as a gritty 1-0 victory at Brentford brought only Villa's second success in eight top-flight matches.
Unbeaten in 15 home games, the Birmingham club now return to base, hosting Belgian opponents for the first time since April 1982 in the European Cup. On that occasion, they came out on top in a semi-final against Brugge's old foes Anderlecht, en route to lifting the trophy.
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European Cup runners-up back in 1978, Club Brugge are making a rare venture into the Champions League's knockout rounds - only their second to date - after squeezing through the league phase and then upsetting Atalanta in the playoffs.
However, their campaign could be close to ending following last week's events at Jan Breydelstadion, where Nicky Hayen's side were left ruing several missed chances in addition to their late defensive meltdown.
As a result, they have been left with a mountain to climb: while Villa have progressed from 12 of 14 previous European ties after winning the first leg, Brugge have lost the opener at home six times before and have been eliminated on each occasion.
Furthermore, the Blauw-Zwart have never won away to English opposition in 14 prior attempts, losing 12 times to date - only Anderlecht (18) and Dynamo Kyiv (15) have played more often in England without tasting any success.
Having conceded 41 goals - including one in their 1978 final loss to Liverpool at Wembley - and scored only nine, there is no doubt that precedent will be firmly stacked against them.
After last Tuesday's defeat, Club Brugge's current squad briefly turned their attention back to Belgium's Pro League, where they sit nine points shy of top spot after beating city rivals Cercle Brugge 3-1. A brace from Ferran Jutgla followed Hans Vanaken's opener, as the Belgian champions recorded just a second win in seven away games.
Still, finding the net again means that Hayen's men have only failed to score in one of their last 37 fixtures; having also won eight of the last 14 on their travels around Europe - most notably beating Atalanta 3-1 in Bergamo - they will still dream of extending this year's Champions League journey.
Team News
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Unai Emery has seen his absence list shorten in recent weeks, leaving only Amadou Onana (thigh) and Ross Barkley (calf) on the sidelines. However, Marco Asensio - who had just scored five goals in four games - and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez both missed Saturday's trip to London.
Following his impact role in Bruges, Asensio has scored 10 Champions League goals in 50 substitute appearances - more than any other player - and Emery will be keen to have the PSG loanee available on Wednesday.
The pair's compatriot Pau Torres recently returned from an ankle injury, and he will vie with Tyrone Mings for selection on the left side of Aston Villa's centre-back pairing; Axel Disasi's fine work against Brentford could see the Chelsea-owned defender keep his place at right-back.
Winter signings Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia are both out of contention, as they were omitted from Emery's squad for the knockout phase.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge have been without Joaquin Seys for the past two games due to a hamstring injury, while Bjorn Meijer is still out of action with a similar problem.
Scorer of the league-phase winner against Villa, captain Hans Vanaken should make his 50th Champions League appearance. The veteran midfielder has played in every Brugge game since the 2016-17 campaign, with only Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan (51) currently on a longer run for one club.
He is set to link up with Spanish striker Ferran Jutgla - who scored twice at the weekend and has notched six goals in his last seven appearances - and teenage winger Chemsdine Talbi, scorer of three from his last three in Europe.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Disasi, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla
We say: Aston Villa 2-2 Club Brugge (Aston Villa win 5-3 on aggregate)
While Aston Villa are much tougher to beat on home turf, Club Brugge have already proven to be fearless, and they will expect to put pressure on their hosts' suspect defence.
With a handy advantage following last week's first leg, Villa should still get the job done - albeit facing a few scares.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
