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With 15 goals scored and 17 conceded from their eight Champions League games so far, Club Brugge have been an entertaining side to watch, and they are averaging 4.0 goals per game. In fact, over 2.5 goals has landed in all eight of their matches on the European stage so far, including against Barcelona. 

It took just 17 minutes for this selection to land when the Catalans visited the Jan Breydel Stadium in November, as a brace from Carlos Forbs helped the Belgian side secure a vital point. 

Atletico Madrid have been equally as enterprising this season in the Champions League, also averaging 4.0 goals per game. This selection has landed in seven out of eight games for the Spanish side, only failing in a 1-1 draw against Galatasaray. Atletico Madrid are yet to keep a clean sheet in Europe this season, which should give Club Brugge some confidence.

Ademola Lookman has hit the ground running since completing his move from Atalanta to Atletico Madrid, and he contributed a goal and an assist against Barcelona last week. Atletico looked succinct in the final third, as they beat the Catalans 4-0, so Club Brugge are likely to have a tough time trying to contain them. Simon Mignolet has recently returned to the first team picture for the Belgian side, and he could have plenty of work to get through here. 

The former Liverpool man played a key role in Brugge’s last European match against Marseille, as he racked up a total of nine saves. That means this selection has landed in six of Club Brugge’s eight Champions League games this season, with one of those failures coming against Kairat Almaty. Atletico Madrid will pose much more of a threat in the final third than the Kazakhstani side, which makes this market one to target.

Aleksandar Stankovic has seen a considerable rise in attacking involvement in recent weeks, registering 16 shots in Club Brugge’s last five games, at an average of 3.23 shots per 90. Those numbers resemble more of a striker than a defensive midfielder, but Stankovic is the designated free kick taker for his side, and regularly breaks forward in open play. 

His uptick in shots has coincided with the return of Raphael Onyedika, who takes on the larger defensive burden of the two. In the Champions League, Stankovic’s shot data has been a bit hit-and-miss, but he is still averaging 2.19 shots per 90 from the eight league phase matches. 

He was on the scoresheet in Club Brugge’s last European outing against Marseille, registering a total of four shots, while Stankovic also landed this selection against Arsenal. The 20-year-old racked up six attempts in that game. 

Club Brugge are only drawing an average of 8.25 fouls per game in the Champions League this season, but a lot of those infringements tend to be concentrated on their forward line. Left winger Mamadou Diakhon is averaging 2.55 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions this season, with that figure decreasing slightly to 2.31 in the Champions League. The 20-year-old has displaced Christos Tzolis from the starting XI, and has been a difficult player to contain. 

Marc Pubill will occupy the same zone of the field as Diakhon, and that is a matchup to keep an eye on. The Spaniard’s foul data has been consistent this season, and he is averaging 1.28 fouls per 90, landing this selection in 10 out of 13 starts overall. Pubill was benched against Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, but looks set to return to the starting XI here.

Even though this is a tough draw for Club Brugge, they will fancy their chances of securing a positive result on home turf. They fared well when they last faced a Spanish side at the Jan Breydel Stadium, as it finished 3-3 against Barcelona on matchday 4 of the Champions League this season. 

Carlos Forbs put in a stellar performance in that game, and it was enough to earn him a call-up to the Portugal squad. Forbs bagged himself a brace against the Spanish champions, landing this selection comfortably. The 21-year-old is averaging 1.73 shots per 90 this season across all competitions, but that figure rises to 2.47 when playing at home. He plays with a lot more confidence in front of a home crowd and seems to be extra motivated to perform in the big games.

Raphael Onyedika has made a welcome return to the starting lineup since recovering from a hamstring injury, and looks set to play a big role against Atletico Madrid. He is averaging 1.71 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, but that rises notably to 2.58 when playing in the Champions League. In addition to that, Onyedika is averaging exactly 2.58 tackles per 90 as well, highlighting how he tends to be strong in his challenges, and contests plenty of duels.

He has landed this selection in all five of his European appearances, which shows how the Nigerian international struggles in the tougher matchups. When Barcelona made the trip to Belgium in November, Onyedika committed two fouls and was booked. Once again, he should have plenty of defensive work to get through against Atletico Madrid here, having to deal with the likes of Giuliano Simeone and Ademola Lookman on the break.

Julian Alvarez has been Atletico Madrid’s standout player in the Champions League with six goal contributions across his seven starts in the competition - including four goals.

He’s achieved this goal tally from 24 shots in the Champions League, working out to an average of 3.53 shots per 90. Of these efforts, 10 have found the target (1.47 per 90), which is a promising record that sets up Alvarez to have another shot on target here.

Alvarez has had a shot on target in three of his last five Champions League appearances, and also maintains an average of 1.23 shots on target per 90 in LaLiga this term.

Aleksandar Stankovic has started all eight games for Club Brugge in the league phase of the Champions League, committing six fouls across these games (0.77 per 90).

Stankovic is far more aggressive than this record suggests, he’s averaging 0.89 fouls committed per 90 in the Belgian Pro League here and will be regularly tested here by Atletico Madrid’s midfield.

Stankovic is only 20, so he hasn’t been in this type of environment too often before which can contribute to the midfielder committing a foul here. His direct opponent here is set to be Thiago Almada, who is averaging 1.15 fouls won per 90 in LaLiga this term.