Brugge – Marseille

The Belgian club will succeed in its home arena.

For Belgian Club Brugge, the past seasons on European football stages have gone very well. The team is representing the country in the Champions League for the third time in the last four years. The only time during this period when Brugge did not participate in the elite European tournament ended up as a Conference League semifinal for them. Last season, before the final round of the group stage of the Champions League, the Belgian champion at that time found itself in a very similar situation. Back then Brugge needed to take points off a highly motivated Manchester City to reach the playoff round. Despite a respectable defeat, eleven points were enough for the club to reach the Round of 16 and beat Atalanta twice there. In the current Champions League edition, nine points could be enough for a finish in the Top 24. Brugge currently has seven points and sits in 27th place in the standings. Only a win guarantees the Belgian side a repeat of last year's success. Marseille has a slightly better position ahead of the final round of the group stage. The Provençals occupy nineteenth place, with a decent goal difference. That means that even in the event of a defeat in Belgium, De Zerbi's side would surely stay within the playoff qualification zone. Bookmakers have not determined favorites for the upcoming match, offering a slightly smaller odds for the visitors' victory. Brugge demonstrated their determination to reach the Round of 16 in the previous Champions League round in Kazakhstan, where they beat Kairat 4-1. In the three prior home matches of the tournament, the Belgian club has lost only to Arsenal. They managed to draw 3-3 with Barcelona, and Monaco was fairly easily defeated 4-1. The home side has a very strong squad that fears no one on the continental stage. Marseille's position before the final round allows them not to worry too much about the result. Therefore, the French side calmly prepared for the crucial Saturday Ligue 1 match and defeated the then-league leaders Lens. Marseille will have a hard time taking three points on the field of a much more motivated opponent.