Club Brugge had a positive streak end recently, as they lost 1-0 against Antwerp on home turf. Prior to that loss, the Blue-Blacks were undefeated in 15 matches at the Jan Breydel Stadium, across all competitions.

The Belgian club suffered defeat once again at the weekend, as they were beaten 3-2 by Sint Tuidense. It has been a poor run of form for Club Brugge, and they come into this European clash as massive underdogs. Their record of one win, one draw and three losses in the Champions League puts them outside of the qualification spots.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are the only side to have won all five of their European outings this season, putting them right at the top of the pile. They have scored a total of 14 goals in the Champions League, while conceding just one in return, which came against Bayern Munich in the previous round (3-1 win).

The Gunners don’t come into this midweek clash in the best shape defensively. Cristhian Mosquera was forced off with a suspected ankle injury recently, joining Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba in the treatment room. The latter is only nursing a minor injury, so is touch and go to feature midweek, but based on the fact Saliba was completely excluded from the matchday squad at the weekend, Arteta is probably going to have to contend without the Frenchman once more here.

After keeping eight consecutive clean sheets across all competitions from the end of September to November, Arsenal have now conceded in five of their last six matches, highlighting how defensive changes have affected them. Club Brugge put three past Barcelona in their last home outing in the Champions League, and will be confident of contributing to the scorecard. Still, their main challenge will be keeping this Arsenal side at bay.

Joaquin Seys is averaging just 0.44 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, which is nothing to write home about, but the focus here will be his matchup on the flank against Bukayo Saka. The winger has drawn 14 fouls in his last five starts alone, and is averaging 2.19 fouls drawn per 90 this season.

When Seys has faced more technical wingers this season, he has struggled. The Belgian international landed this selection in his last Champions League appearance against Sporting, as he committed two fouls and was booked. He also made one foul against Barcelona, with his main matchup in that game being Lamine Yamal, a player with similar traits to Saka.

Seys contested 10 duels in that match, and had five tackles to his name against the Catalans. His average of 2.16 tackles per 90 across all competitions this season is amongst the highest in the Club Brugge squad, highlighting how he does enjoy a physical contest.

Arsenal allowed Aston Villa to have 15 shots at the weekend, which is the third-most they have conceded since the season started. The Gunners conceded 15 shots in the EFL Cup against Brighton back in October, but Mikel Arteta opted for significant rotation in that match - the other game was away against Man United.

Key defensive absentees have clearly had an impact, and Club Brugge should be confident of causing the Premier League leaders some problems. If the Belgian side are to take any positives from this game, Christos Tzolis will have to play a large role. He already has seven goals and 10 assists to his name in all competitions this season, and he has landed this selection in all five Champions League matches.

That includes three shots against Barcelona, and two efforts against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, proving he can hold his own against the elites.

Carlos Forbs was benched at the weekend against Sint Truidense, only featuring for the second half. The Portuguese winger has put in some notable performances this season, including a brace against Barcelona in round two of the Champions League, so should be in line to re-claim his starting position.

The 21-year-old has looked a lot more comfortable playing on home turf this season - he is averaging 2.59 shots per 90 in all competitions at the Jan Breydel Stadium, compared to just 0.93 when playing away.

Forbs has landed this selection against Barcelona and AS Monaco in the Champions League already, registering exactly two shots on target in those respective games. He also scored against RUSG, meaning all five of his goals this season have come in front of a home support. Based on that, this price really stands out.

Mikel Arteta has welcomed the return of Martin Odegaard back into the first team picture since returning from injury, but Martin Zubimendi has kept his spot in midfield. The Spaniard has established himself as a key player this season since arriving from Real Sociedad over the summer, and has been busy in midfield.

Zubimendi is averaging 1.62 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, and has already picked up six cards in 19 appearances for the Gunners. He has seen a notable uptick in infringements when playing in the Champions league, with 2.89 fouls per 90.

Zubimendi has been carded in three of his four European outings this term, and was fortunate to evade a caution against Bayern Munich. The 26-year-old racked up four fouls in that match against the Bavarians, but was let off the hook by a lenient Marco Guida.

Raphael Onyedika is a player who likes to get stuck into duels, averaging 2.17 tackles per 90. The Nigerian international has been a bit reckless when it comes to committing fouls, and has racked up multiple infringements in each of his last six starts heading into this clash. He has also been carded four times in that stretch, highlighting how he can be quite clumsy and aggressive in his challenges.

Onyedika was booked against both Sporting and Barcelona, committing a total of five fouls across those two Champions League games. Club Brugge are likely to be quite front-footed and brave in their approach, which could leave gaps in midfield for Arsenal to take advantage of.

Onyedika will have a tough task on his hands to contain the Gunners, and will be responsible for cutting out the counters, which increases his chances of a couple of cynical fouls.