Champions League: Resurgent Real Welcome Club Brugge to the Bernabeu

Real Madrid vs Club Brugge

The last time Real Madrid were in action in the Champions League, they were thumped 3-0 by a Paris Saint-Germain side that was missing its biggest stars.

However, Zinedine Zidane’s men have finally started to turn things around since that humiliating performance against PSG, particularly in defence.

The Spanish giants will have their sights set on keeping their promising unbeaten run alive as they host Club Brugge to the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Belgians picked up a point in their opening group match against Galatasaray. But the Champions League 2019 betting odds will be stacked against them against Real, which is why they will be elated if they can pick up another point in their trip to the Spanish capital.

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Talking Points

Real returning to form

Real Madrid have responded quite well to that 3-0 defeat to PSG a few weeks ago. They came back to win back-to-back games in La Liga against high-flying Sevilla away (1-0) and Osasuna (2-0) at home.

They are still at the top of the La Liga table after a 0-0 draw against Atletico in the Madrid derby. Despite failing to score, Real manager Zinedine Zidane should be encouraged that his side put up another clean sheet, their third in a row.

They kept the Atletico attack under wraps, so much so that keeper Thibaut Courtois had barely anything to do in the entire match.

Real captain Sergio Ramos was a huge reason for Real’s success against Atleti. And the good news for Real is that their skipper has finally served his two-match Champions League ban and will be ready to make his return to the competition against Brugge.

Meanwhile, reigning Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric could also make his way back to the starting XI. The Croatian midfielder, who had the past three weeks due to a groin injury, was included in the squad against Atleti and played 22 minutes after coming on as a substitute.

In attack, though, Eden Hazard remains far from his best. The Belgian was unable to create any sort of spark against Atletico as he continues to work his way back into full match sharpness. But perhaps this matchup against relatively inferior competition can help the Belgian get back to his best.

Champions League: hazard is still struggling at Real Madrid — Eden Hazard reacts after failing to score during the match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes

And even if Hazard continues to struggle to create Champions League 2019 highlights, Real should have more than enough attacking talent with the likes of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Vinicius Jr. and James Rodriguez to get the job done against Brugge.

Brugge still unbeaten

Club Brugge have continued their fine start to the season. They are currently top of the Belgian league with six wins and two draws in their first eight matches and have scored 21 goals while conceding just three.

Brugge have conceded just one goal in their last five matches in all competitions and are coming off a dominant 5-0 win over Mechelen. Krepin Diatta, Brugge’s 20-year-old forward, has been in terrific form of late, scoring four goals in his last four matches.

Brugge have also been quite competitive in European competition. With their draw against Galatasaray, they are now undefeated in their last five group stage matches (one win, four draws) and have kept clean sheets in four of those contests.

And including qualifying for this year’s tournament, they have gone unbeaten in their last nine in the Champions League (four wins, five draws).

Obviously, though, Real Madrid will be a major step up in competition for the Belgian leaders, especially as they visit the Bernabeu.

History

Club Brugge and Real Madrid have met just twice in European competition, and surprisingly, it was the Belgians who came out on top.

Those only two meetings came in the 1976-77 European Champion Clubs’ Cup second round. After a goalless first leg in Spain, Brugge went through thanks to a 2-0 home win.

Real will head to the match having lost three of their last four Champions League matches — including their last two at home. They lost 3-0 at home to CSKA Moscow in their final group game last season and were also hammered 4-1 at home against Ajax in the knockout round.

Betting Tip

	Real Madrid vs Club Brugge	Under 3.50 Goals @ 1.96
	October 02, 00:55 (GMT+8)

SBOBET odds have Real Madrid as huge 1.27 favourites to claim all three points against Club Brugges, who are priced at 9.00 to score a massive upset.

Clearly, it would be a major shock if Real don’t win this match, and they most likely won’t. But with the odds set as they are, there’s not much upside in the 1X2 market.

But there is value in the over unders, particularly the under. Real haven’t been nearly as dominant in attack considering all the talent they have at their disposal.

And while Brugge will struggle to score themselves against an improving Real defence, their own competent backline could make things difficult for Los Blancos, which will likely result in a relatively low-scoring affair.