Manchester City vs Club Brugge facts

Manchester City will look to continue their strong record against Belgian sides as Club Brugge – who have lost 13 of their 15 fixtures in England, where they have never won – visit on UEFA Champions League Matchday 8.

Both sides are bidding to book their place in the knockout stages. Club Brugge have 11 points, drawing 0-0 at home to Juventus on Matchday 7, when City let slip a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 at Paris Saint-Germain, a third defeat in four games (D1) leaving the 2023 winners with eight points.

Previous meetings

2021/22 Champions League group stage
Club Brugge 1-5 Manchester City
Manchester City 4-1 Club Brugge
Riyad Mahrez scored twice and João Cancelo, Kyle Walker and Cole Palmer once in City's Matchday 3 win in Bruges, where Hans Vanaken got a late consolation for the home side. A John Stones own goal quickly cancelled out Phil Foden's early opener for City in Manchester but second-half strikes from Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus wrapped up another big win.

Form guide

Manchester City

Record vs Belgian clubs: W7 D0 L1 F25 A6
Home record vs Belgian clubs: W4 D0 L0

City's 2021 wins against Club Brugge made it four successive victories against Belgian opponents.

Indeed, a 2-0 loss at Standard Liège in the 1978/79 UEFA Cup second round second leg is the only one of City's eight games against teams from Belgium that did not end in victory; they had triumphed 4-0 in the first leg of that tie.

At home City have scored 16 goals in winning their four matches against Belgian visitors, conceding just three.

This is City's 14th successive season in the Champions League proper; they have featured in every campaign since 2011/12 and have reached the knockout stages in each of the last 11.

Having claimed the club's first Champions League title in 2022/23, Guardiola's side won all six group games for the first time last season. That was the seventh successive campaign in which City had come first in their group.

City brushed past Copenhagen in the round of 16 (3-1 a, 3-1 h) but lost an epic quarter-final against eventual champions Real Madrid (3-3 a, 1-1 h, 3-4 pens) – the third season in a row in which they had faced the Spanish side.

The Cityzens are unbeaten in 34 home European matches (W29 D5) since a 1-2 loss to Lyon on Matchday 1 in 2018/19, winning 23 of the last 27 including against Sparta Praha on Matchday 3 this season – although they have also drawn against Inter Milan (0-0) and, on Matchday 5, Feyenoord (3-3), letting slip a three-goal lead in the latter.

Guardiola's side claimed a fourth successive Premier League title in 2023/24 – a new English record – but lost to neighbours Manchester United in the FA Cup final to miss out on what would have been a second successive double.

Club Brugge

Record vs English clubs: W7 D5 L17 F28 A58
Away record vs English clubs: W0 D2 L12

A 1-0 Matchday 4 win at home to Aston Villa ended Club Brugge's run of 14 games without a victory against English opponents, a sequence stretching back to 1995 and featuring 11 defeats – including three in a row before this season.

A 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg (1-6 aggregate) is the only other of Club Brugge's last nine matches against English clubs they have not lost.

Club Brugge have conceded 38 goals in losing 13 of their 15 games in England – including a 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the 1978 European Cup final at Wembley – scoring only eight, and have been beaten on their last five visits, since a 2-2 draw at Birmingham in the 2011/12 Europa League group stage.

This is Club Brugge's 11th campaign in the Champions League proper – one short of Anderlecht's Belgian record.

The most recent came in 2022/23, the Belgian side claiming 11 points to finish second in Group B behind Porto and reach the knockout stages for the first time. Benfica proved too strong in the round of 16, however, winning 2-0 in Bruges and 5-1 in Lisbon.

Club Brugge have lost only six of their last 18 away matches in the Champions League proper (W5 D7).

European Cup runners-up to Liverpool in 1978, Club Brugge spent 2023/24 in the Europa Conference League, eventually reaching the last four before losing to Fiorentina.

Club Brugge have won seven of their last 12 away European games (D1 L4).

Champions of Belgium for the 19th time in 2023/24 – their fourth title in five years – Club Brugge appointed Nicky Hayen as their permanent head coach in June. He had succeeded Ronny Deila, who was Celtic manager from 2014 to 2016, on a temporary basis in March.

Links and trivia

Kevin De Bruyne had spells in the youth set-ups at Gent and Genk, making his senior breakthrough at the latter in 2009. He scored 17 goals in 113 appearances in all competitions, winning the league title and the Belgian Super Cup in 2011.

De Bruyne's record against Club Brugge with Genk was W5 D1 L2. All three of his goals came in Genk's 5-4 league win in Bruges on 29 October 2011 – the first hat-trick of his senior career.

Jérémy Doku joined Anderlecht in 2012 aged ten, making his first-team debut aged 16 in November 2018. He lost all three matches against Club Brugge, all in 2019/20.

Have played in England:
Simon Mignolet (Sunderland 2010–13, Liverpool 2013–19)
Christos Tzolis (Norwich 2021/22)
Dani van den Heuvel (Leeds 2020–24)

International team-mates:
Kevin De Bruyne, Jérémy Doku & Maxim De Cuyper, Joaquin Seys (Belgium)
Manuel Akanji & Ardon Jashari (Switzerland)
Erling Haaland & Hugo Vetlesen (Norway)

Latest news

Manchester City

City were unbeaten in six matches (W4 D2) before losing in Paris on Matchday 7.

On Saturday Pep Guardiola's side came from a goal down to win 3-1 at home to Chelsea thanks to strikes from Joško Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden that made it five wins in City's last 14 Premier League matches (D3 L6).

Haaland has 18 goals in 23 Premier League appearances in 2024/25 and five in his last five.

Foden scored twice in a 6-0 success at Ipswich on 19 January – their biggest Premier League victory since 31 August 2022 – and has six goals in his last four league matches.

City have already dropped 28 points this season – their most in an entire Premier League campaign since 2020/21.

A second-half James McAtee hat-trick helped City to an 8-0 win against Salford in the FA Cup third round on 11 January, Jack Grealish converting a penalty for his first club goal since 16 December 2023.

City will visit third-tier Leyton Orient in the fourth round.

Rúben Dias was out with a calf injury from 15 December to 19 January but was substituted at half-time in Paris having picked up a groin problem and missed Saturday's win.

Nathan Aké has a knock and has not played since 14 January.

John Stones, who was out between 23 November and 21 December with a foot problem, was replaced at half-time of his return at Aston Villa with an ankle injury, returning as a substitute in City's last two games.

Jérémy Doku has missed the last two matches with a muscle injury.

Rodri suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Arsenal on 22 September and has undergone surgery that is expected to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Oscar Bobb suffered a leg fracture in training on 14 August.

Former City captain Tony Book died aged 90 on 13 January. He led the club to the league title in 1968, the FA Cup a year later and the European Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup in 1970, also winning the League Cup as manager in 1976.

On 17 January City announced that Haaland had signed a new contract until 2034.

City have signed forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt and centre-backs Vitor Reis from Palmeiras and Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens this month, while Kyle Walker has joined Milan on loan for the rest of the season.

Marmoush and Khusanov made their City debuts on Saturday.

Club Brugge

Club Brugge are 20 matches unbeaten in all competitions (W15 D5), since the 3-1 loss at AC Milan on Matchday 3. They drew 1-1 at home to Kortrijk on Saturday.

Gustav Nilsson equalised and has scored in his last three league appearances, four goals in total.

The Belgian champions have won ten of their last 13 games and five in a row before being held by Juventus on Matchday 7.

The defeat at Milan is Club Brugge's only loss in 25 games in all competitions (W17 D7).

The stalemate with Juve is one of only two games in 32 in all competitions that Club Brugge had failed to score; they have two or more goals in 11 of their last 13 league fixtures.

Nicky Hayen's side lost two of their first three league games this season (D1) but have suffered only one defeat in the last 20 (W14 D5).

Club Brugge were 2-1 winners at home to Genk in the Belgian Cup semi-final first leg on 15 January; the away second leg is on 5 February.

Midfielder Ardon Jashari extended his contract with Club Brugge until 2029 on Friday.

On 17 January Andreas Skov Olsen signed for Wolfsburg.