Aston Villa vs Club Brugge

Aston Villa aims to reach the Champions League quarter-finals by playing Club Brugge at Villa Park in Birmingham for the second leg of their last-16 tie with a two-goal lead.

The late collapse in their home fixture during Belgium league play has put Club Brugge in an unfavorable position while Aston Villa aims to seal victory at Villa Park.

The club secured their initial lead during the first match in Bruges after which Villa and Leon Bailey delivered a powerful early goal.

Villa opposition leveled with Maxim De Cuyper's goal but both teams failed to seize full control afterward before Brandon Mechele scored an accidental goal in the 82nd minute and Christos Tzolis delivered a penalty to Villa.

After being introduced as a substitute Marco Asensio scored a penalty which brought the visiting team up to three goals before coming back to Birmingham for the return fixture.

A top-eight finish would allow Villa to install themselves in the final eight of the Champions League this season. This milestone remains out of reach for most teams during their first European adventure since Atalanta BC accomplished it in 2019-20. All previous English clubs failed to accomplish this feat after Leicester City in 2015-16.

Unai Emery maintains a home record of success in the Champions League by losing just three matches throughout his four-pinning clubs including his four years at Aston Villa where he proves effective in generating advantageous home field outcomes.

Ever since their frustrating dry spell ended Villa has secured three consecutive victories in multiple events which neither ended their Champions League elimination nor stopped them from reaching the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Ollie Watkins' game-winning goal against Old Club on Saturday night helped them scramble back up a crowded Premier League table. Villa's grueling 1-0 triumph at Brentford was only their second victory in eight top-flight games.

The Birmingham team, which has been undefeated in 15 home games, is back at home for the first time since April 1982 in the European Cup, hosting Belgian opponents. On that occasion, they defeated Brugge's old rivals Anderlecht in a semi-final on their way to winning the title.

Club Brugge, the runners-up in the 1978 European Cup, are making their second appearance in the Champions League knockout stages after defeating Atalanta in the playoffs and surviving the league stage.

However, after last week's events at Jan Breydelstadion, when Nicky Hayen's team was left regretting a number of squandered opportunities in addition to their late defensive breakdown, their campaign may be nearing its conclusion.

They have a mountain to climb as a result: Brugge has lost the first leg at home six times previously and has been eliminated each time, whilst Villa has advanced from 12 of 14 prior European matches after winning the first leg.

Given that they have only scored nine goals and given up 41 goals, including one in their 1978 Wembley final loss to Liverpool, it is obvious that the odds are stacked against them.

Following their loss last Tuesday, Club Brugge's current team momentarily returned to focus on Belgium's Pro League, where they defeated local rivals Cercle Brugge 3-1 and are now nine points off the top place. Hans Vanaken opened the scoring with a brace from Ferran Jutgla, but the Belgian champions only managed their second victory in seven away games.