Atletico Madrid vs Club Brugge

Thursday’s Champions League action gets underway at the Metropolitano Stadium as Atletico Madrid fight for their Group B survival against table-topping Club Brugge.

Following a dramatic 2-1 home victory over Porto on day one, Atletico Madrid’s Champions League campaign has gone into disarray, with Diego Simeone’s men losing back-to-back matches via an identical 2-0 scoreline. ‘Los Rojiblancos’ lost in Belgium last week but can draw confidence from beating Belgian visitors in all five home games across major European competitions. Extending that record is necessary to keep Atletico’s bid to progress beyond the Champions League group phase for the fifth year running. However, the Metropolitano Stadium has not been the fortress the Atletico faithful have been hoping for lately, with Simeone’s lads picking up just one win in their last nine Champions League home outings (D5, L3). Yet a tight 2-1 home beating of Girona at the weekend could inspire the Madrid side’s comeback.

In the meantime, visiting Club Brugge have defied every expectation the bookies had for them before the Champions League started, winning all three Group B fixtures by an aggregate score of 7-0. Six points clear of all other Group B participants at the halfway stage, the ‘Blauw-Zwart’ are on the cusp of achieving an unprecedented milestone and qualifying for the Champions League knockouts for the first time in club history. A victory in Madrid at long odds would see Brugge become only the second-ever Belgian outfit to win four Champions League contests on the bounce. Moreover, after a 4-0 humbling of Porto on matchday one, Brugge boss Carl Hoefkens could be the first coach to oversee consecutive Champions League away wins in charge of the reigning Belgian First Division A holders.