Champions League: Last Year’s Runners-up Look to Start Strong in Belgium

Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund

The new season of this year’s Champions League starts this week, debuting its new format in front of millions of football fans all over the world.

More matches, more action and an overall improved footballing experience—that’s the promise of this year’s UCL edition. So what better way to usher in a revamped season than to start off on the right foot?

And that is the aim of Club Brugge and Borussia Dortmund when they meet each other in the tournament’s league phase (formerly group stage) on Thursday.

Both squads are coming off wins in their respective leagues, with Dortmund beating Heidenheim (4-2) and Club Brugge dominating Kortrijk (0-3).

Last year’s finalists, the Black and Yellows enter the UCL with renewed vigour under Nuri Sahin. Hopeful for yet another deep run, a good start will do them a whole lot of good as they hope to carry their Bundesliga form all the way to Europe.

Meanwhile, the Blauw-Zwart had a great stint at the Conference League last season, ending the tournament undefeated at home and going all the way to the semi-final where they lost to Fiorentina.

 

Talking Points

Club Brugge hoping for a successful Champions League return

Winners of the Belgian Pro League last season, Club Brugge’s UCL drought only lasted for a year as the team have now qualified in the Champions League for the sixth time in seven seasons.

As a result, Nicky Hayen’s interim job as manager has been made permanent, and he’ll no doubt aim for his club to be in the mix once it’s all said and done in the league phase.

The Blauw-Zwart squandered a Belgian Super Cup victory early into the season and started out slow in the league (1D-2L). However, Club Brugge came alive after edging Royal Antwerp out (1-0) and the 19-time Belgian champions have won all their games since.

Andreas Skov Olsen leads the pack with three goals to his name, whilst Gustaf Nilsson, Hans Vanaken and Christos Tzolis all have two goals apiece.

Although they face an uphill battle against Die Borussen, they’ll be at home and as earlier stated, Club Brugge have made the Jan Breydel Stadium a fortress in Europe.

 

Nuri Sahin’s Dortmund are looking good so far

Over a week removed from the emotional testimonial match in which club legends Jakub Blaszczykowski, Lukasz Piszczek and Mats Hummels have effectively said their goodbyes—and also one that saw the return of the beloved Jurgen Klopp—the positive feeling within the Dortmund camp might be staying for quite a while.

Nuri Sahin’s side were scintillating against Heidenheim just a few days back, showing their attacking prowess in all its glory as they hit their opponents with a two-goal lead 20 minutes into the match, courtesy of Karim Adeyemi and Donyell Malen.

Marvin Pieringer brought Heidenheim back with a headed goal after Omar Traore’s picture-perfect cross, before Adeyemi cancelled it out a couple minutes later to get his brace. More goals ensued with Heidenheim winning a penalty in the 73^rd minute, to which Maximilian Breunig converted.

But all hopes of the guests stealing a point soon went down the drain after a penalty was awarded to Dortmund in added time and Emre Can comfortably sank it through to give Dortmund their second Bundesliga win of the campaign.

Aside from a shocking friendly defeat in Thailand, the Black and Yellows are currently undefeated in all competitions under Nuri Sahin.

 

History

Both clubs aren’t strangers to facing each other in the Champions League. They have met in the tournament’s group stages back in 2018/2019 and 2020/21, with Dortmund claiming three wins and a draw.

They were also matched with each other in the third qualifying round of the 2003/04 Champions League season, where they split their meetings, winning 2-1 apiece.

Dortmund are also in fine fettle whenever they play on Belgian soil, claiming wins in their last four matches after losing their first three.

Overall, eight Champions League matches were contested between them, with Dortmund leading the head-to-head match-up (5W-1D-2L).

 

Betting Tip

Die Borussen are favourites to win in Bruges, with the SBOTOP Champions League 2024 odds siding with the German club to take all three points against the Blauw-Zwart (3.49). Meanwhile, a draw is priced at 3.33.

For team availabilities, Dortmund will retain the services of defender Nico Schlotterbeck after being suspended against Heidenheim, whilst Gio Reyna remains out due to injury.

This match will surely be packed with plenty of Champions League 2024 highlights, and I expect a great contest in the end—one that will have Borussia Dortmund finish as winners.

   

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