Club Brugge vs Lens at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday 21 October brings together two clubs on three points who had very different Matchday 2 nights. Brugge won 4-3 at Inter. Lens lost 2-0 at home to Sporting CP. Ivan Leko's side can't stop scoring, while Lens are still steadying themselves under Yannick Cahuzac after a messy autumn.
Club Brugge
LensKick-off is 21:00 in Bruges and Lens, 20:00 in the UK and 3pm ET in the US.
Tresoldi's night at San Siro
Nicolo Tresoldi got his hat-trick in Milan three different ways: a penalty, a tap-in and a rebound. Romeo Vermant added the fourth, and Brugge held on despite two goals from Lautaro Martinez. It left Inter with four straight Champions League defeats for the first time in their history.
The opener had gone badly. Brugge lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa after Villa scored three in the first half, and goals from Hugo Vetlesen and a Tresoldi penalty weren't quite enough.
So Brugge have six scored and six conceded in Europe, and nobody should expect a tight, careful game from Leko's side at home. They'll try to pin Lens back from the start. In the league they look solid enough: second in the Belgian Pro League with 21 points from eight games, one behind Gent, and they went to Milan after wins over Antwerp (3-1), Genk (3-0) and La Louviere (4-1).
A strange few months for Lens
Lens finished second in Ligue 1 last season and opened this one by beating PSG 1-0 in the Trophee des Champions on 16 August. Then it fell apart. Dino Toppmoller was dismissed on 15 September after only 28 days in the job, following a dispute over the coaching staff. Cahuzac, a former Lens player and captain who had come back to the club's staff, stepped up from assistant. His spell was first called interim, but the club later dropped any time limit.
The Champions League started well. Trailing at Slavia Prague, Lens levelled through Abdallah Sima, then Florian Thauvin and Ruben Aguilar scored in stoppage time against ten men to win 3-2. Sporting were a different story. Lens dominated the first 15 minutes, Luis Suarez scored on the counter, Franjo Ivanovic hit the post, and Issa Doumbia made it 2-0. It was Lens's first home Champions League defeat since December 1998.
They're tenth in Ligue 1 with seven points from six games, though the 2-1 home win over Lyon on 9 October, with two Thauvin assists, was progress.
The bigger worry for Cahuzac is at the back. Lens haven't kept a clean sheet in eight matches, and now they go to a side that just put four past Inter.
Club BruggeLensInjuries on both sides
Sima is reported to be out with a thigh injury until late November, Maik Nawrocki has a long-term knee ligament injury, and Jonathan Gradit has a hamstring strain that should keep him out for a week or two. Lens go to Troyes on Saturday, which will tell us more. Brugge are in better shape. Carlos Forbs shook off a thigh problem to play a big part at Inter, and defender Joel Ordonez is day to day with a foot injury.
| Club Brugge | Lens | |
|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa | Slavia Prague 2-3 Lens |
| Matchday 2 | Inter 3-4 Club Brugge | Lens 0-2 Sporting CP |
| Goals for | 6 | 3 |
| Goals against | 6 | 4 |
| Points | 3 | 3 |
Club Brugge vs Lens prediction
I lean towards the home side. Brugge are strong at the Jan Breydel and full of belief after San Siro, and Tresoldi is in the form of his life. Lens have Thauvin's delivery and Ivanovic's movement, so they should score, but their defence hasn't held up for weeks. I'll say Brugge 2-1, which would put them in a good spot for the top 24.
Live scores and line-ups will be on ESPN's match page. In France the Champions League is on Canal+. To watch Club Brugge vs Lens free with no signup, use our Champions League live streams page, and follow Lens in the league on the Ligue 1 streams hub. Spanish speakers can use Champions League en vivo. Earlier that evening Lille host Galatasaray, and our Lille vs Galatasaray preview has that one.
