Manchester City risk a premature exit from the UEFA Champions League at home to Club Brugge on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola’s men welcome their Belgian visitors to Etihad Stadium this midweek, having gotten over their main blip although it is too late to save their English Premier League title chances. A 3-1 home win over Chelsea followed the 4-2 loss away at Paris Saint-Germain while Brugge drew 1-1 with Kortrijk which extended a 20-game unbeaten run across all competitions. The Belgians are close to leaders Genk domestically, but have also been problematic for Juventus, Aston Villa, Celtic and Sporting CP so far in the UCL. They last went unbeaten across five continental games back in 1976-77, but City thumped them 5-1 and 4-1 during the 2021-22 group phase.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
UEFA Champions League: What do Manchester City need do on Matchday 8, scenarios, schedule, where to watch
Chuck Booth
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, January 29 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Etihad Stadium – Manchester, England
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: City -600; Draw +650; Brugge +1400
Don’t miss any of the Champions League. As always, you can catch all of our coverage across Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network all season long.
League phase so far
City are outside the top 24 after falling apart in Paris to go from 2-0 up to 4-2 down while Brugge are currently in a playoff place. Guardiola’s men advance if they win but go out if they draw or lose but Nicky Hayen’s side have been difficult to beat. City are just outside the unseeded playoff places and trail Brugge by three points but the only way they could go out despite winning is if Dinamo Zagreb thrash Milan by 11 goals or more. The Citizens have not lost across 90 minutes in any of their last 33 UCL home games and Brugge will be looking to replicate their meanness from the Juventus draw given that the Italians already beat City this league phase.
Team news
City: Oscar Bobb, Rodri and Ruben Dias are injured while Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku are doubtful. Abdukodir Khusanov debuted over the weekend and John Stones should step in here. Omar Marmoush also debuted which has Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho competing to be recalled having started in Paris.
Possible City XI: Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland.
Brugge: Captain Hans Vanaken is a doubt and not certain to recover in time for this one. Maxim De Cuyper should come back in while Christos Tzolis is a presence on the left and Simon Mignolet a familiar face to EPL fans in goal.
Possible Brugge XI: Mignolet; Sabbe, Mechele, Ordonez, De Cuyper; Jashari, Onyedika; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Nilsson.
Prediction
This one is straightforward enough for City who should be able to seize the chance to atone for their Paris nightmare and win it by a goal or two to reach the playoffs. Pick: City 2, Brugge 0.
Matchday 8 TV schedule
All times Eastern
Standings
Key: Positions 1-8 qualify for Round of 16 while positions 9-24 qualify for Knockout Phase Play-Offs and positions 25-36 are eliminated.
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 21 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 11 | +15 | 18 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 16 |
| 4 | Inter | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 16 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 15 |
| 6 | AC Milan | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 15 |
| 7 | Atalanta | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 4 | +14 | 14 |
| 8 | Bayer Leverkusen | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 13 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 13 |
| 10 | AS Monaco | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 13 |
| 11 | Feyenoord | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 13 |
| 12 | Lille | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 13 |
| 13 | Brest | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 13 |
| 14 | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 1 | +8 | 12 |
| 15 | Bayern Munich | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 12 |
| 16 | Real Madrid | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 12 |
| 17 | Juventus | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 12 |
| 18 | Celtic | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 12 |
| 19 | PSV | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 12 |
| 20 | Club Brugge | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 11 |
| 21 | Benfica | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 10 |
| 22 | PSG | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 10 |
| 23 | Sporting CP | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 10 |
| 24 | Stuttgart | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 10 |
| 25 | Manchester City | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 8 |
| 26 | Dinamo Zagreb | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 18 | -8 | 8 |
| 27 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 7 |
| 28 | Bologna | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 5 |
| 29 | Sparta Prague | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 4 |
| 30 | RB Leipzig | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 3 |
| 31 | Girona | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 11 | -7 | 3 |
| 32 | Crvena Zvezda | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 3 |
| 33 | Sturm Graz | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 3 |
| 34 | RB Salzburg | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 23 | -19 | 3 |
| 35 | Slovan Bratislava | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 24 | -18 | 0 |
| 36 | Young Boys | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 23 | -20 | 0 |
