Manchester City are in a position where they must defeat Club Brugge in order to progress to the Champions League play-off round following their 4-2 loss against Paris St-Germain in the previous week.
Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, the City team has managed to secure victory in just two out of their seven Champions League matches this season, placing them 25th out of 36 teams in the standings, with a total of eight points. However, their 3-1 win against Chelsea in the Premier League over the weekend is likely to boost their confidence significantly.
The expectation is on City to capitalize on their home advantage at the Etihad Stadium. Nonetheless, this fixture holds significant importance for the visiting Belgian team as well. Club Brugge has the opportunity to advance with just a single point, simultaneously knocking City out of the competition.
Team news
In addition to long-awaited returns of Oscar Bobb and Rodri, City will have to do without Ruben Dias who sustained an injury in the previous match against PSG. Nathan Ake's availability is uncertain, while Jeremy Doku will be sidelined.
New signings Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, and Omar Marmoush are ineligible for the match, likely leading to John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne regaining their spots in the starting eleven.
Club Brugge, on the other hand, has a mostly fit squad. Captain Hans Vanaken, who missed the weekend fixture against Kortrijk due to illness, remains a doubt for the upcoming clash in Manchester.
The stats
City's form has notably improved, having suffered just one defeat in their last eight matches across all competitions after a lackluster November and December.
Manchester City maintain an impressive unbeaten streak of 33 matches at the Etihad in the Champions League, winning 28 and drawing 5.
In 10 out of City's last 13 Champions League matches, there have been over 3.5 goals scored.
While Club Brugge has displayed impressive resilience by losing only one of their previous 25 matches in all competitions, they have yet to secure a victory in 14 attempts against English opponents in European competitions.
Club Brugge has shown prowess in the Champions League away games by scoring consistently, having only conceded two first-half goals in seven matches this season.
Prediction
City finds themselves in a must-win situation after garnering just one point from their last four Champions League fixtures, making it unlikely for them to have an easy outing.
In recent matches, City relinquished a 2-0 lead to lose against PSG and also let slip a 3-0 advantage to settle for a draw with Feyenoord in their last Champions League home game.
Despite displaying vulnerability defensively with only four clean sheets in their last 20 matches, City possesses the attacking prowess required to secure the desired victory against Brugge.
Guardiola's squad has shown promising form in the Premier League, winning four out of their recent five matches, indicating the probable outcome of outclassing the Belgian opponents in a high-scoring encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
While the visitors have failed to score in only two out of their seven Champions League matches this season, they are likely to create goal-scoring opportunities on the counter-attack.