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Club Brugge and Lens have produced similar results in the early stages of the Champions League, and with the teams level on points, this meeting at Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday, October 21, gives the winner the upper hand for qualification.
The hosts are hoping to continue with their momentum, as they are challenging Gent for the Belgian Pro League title and are only a point adrift of the leaders there, but in terms of Europe, their triumph in Italy last time out should give them a handy confidence boost.
Lens have been all over the place this season, which led to them parting ways with head coach Dino Toppmoller in mid-September, with Yannick Cahuzac now stepping into the hot seat.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Club Brugge vs Lens key stats
- Brugge are averaging three goals per 90 in their recent five matches.
- The hosts lost just one of their previous 13 UCL main draw home games where they scored first, winning 10 of those matches.
- Lens have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 15 UCL matches.
Club Brugge vs Lens preview: Capitalising on momentum
Club Brugge vs Lens — Tale of the Tape
| Club Brugge | vs | Lens |
|---|---|---|
| 16th | Position | 19th |
| 3 | Points | 3 |
| 6 | Goals For | 3 |
| 6 | Goals Against | 4 |
| 0 | Clean Sheets | 0 |
| 29th (H) | Home / Away Rank | 10th (A) |
The hosts kicked off their Champions League campaign with a home defeat to Aston Villa, but they have displayed resilient character since then.
That defeat was Brugge's only failure across their previous six matches, after which they have put on a run of five competitive wins on the trot.
Ivan Leko's men have lost only two matches since the start of the season, across 11 contests in all competitions, which is a record to be proud of.
They bounced back quite nicely in this competition from their matchday one setback, as they became the only Belgian side to beat Inter Milan at the San Siro last week.
That match was a thriller, with Brugge leaving Italy with a 4-3 victory, just the type of result they needed heading into matchday three of the competition.
The Blauw-Zwart will be confident of securing maximum points here back at their home base, especially because their previous two head-to-heads with Ligue 1 opposition ended in victory by a minimum margin of two goals.
Lens are in this competition because of their strong Ligue 1 campaign last season, but a lot has changed since then, and there have been some changes in the dugout.
The Blood and Gold pulled off an incredible win in their first UCL match, scoring twice in stoppage time to beat Slavia Prague, and it was widely expected that they would win their first European game on home soil this season.
However, that did not pan out that way, as Sporting CP won 2-0, which also happened to be Cahuzac's first game in charge, but they responded positively with a 3-1 Ligue 1 win at Troyes over the weekend.
The French side have never achieved back-to-back away victories in the Champions League, but they are on the cusp of that record, and they are also searching for their first pair of consecutive wins on opposition turf since February this year.
Club Brugge vs Lens form guide & betting tips
| Club Brugge | vs | Lens |
|---|---|---|
LW |
Form | WL |
| 3 | Points | 3 |
| 16th | Form Table | 19th |
| 6 | Goals For | 3 |
| 6 | Goals Against | 4 |
WWWWW |
Form (All Comps) | LWWLW |
Whispers predicts: Club Brugge 3-1 Lens
Club Brugge are in a good place at the moment, winning the last five matches in a row, which is why it is worth backing the hosts to win at 1.96 odds.
Both of their Champions League matches produced goals at both ends, while Lens have seen the same outcome in three of the last five outings in all competitions, making BTTS – Yes at 1.44 odds a reasonable pick.
However, the value in that selection is not great, but a combination to take a Brugge win and BTTS – Yes at 3.05 odds is far more appealing.
The hosts scored 15 goals across their recent five outings, averaging three goals per 90, so it may be worth backing Brugge to score more than 2.5 goals at 2.90 odds.
Nicolo Tresoldi should be flying with confidence at the moment, after scoring a hat-trick against Inter Milan last week, meaning he has scored four of Brugge's six goals in this competition so far, which makes backing the German to score anytime at 2.10 odds.
> 1×2 at 1.96 | Likelihood: High
> 1×2 & BTTS – Yes at 3.05 | Likelihood: Medium
> Brugge totals – Over 2.5 goals at 2.90 | Likelihood: Medium
> Anytime goalscorer – Nicolo Tresoldi at 2.10 | Likelihood: Medium