The surprising underdog Club Brugge out of Belgium hosts Portuguese side Benfica in the Champions League round of 16. Club Brugge somehow made it out of a group with Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Porto to earn a spot here, but they are the biggest long shot on the board at 150-1 to win the Champions League. Benfica impressively won their Champions League group over both PSG and Juventus to set a favorable round of 16 matchup.
They have a +1. 93 xGD and are averaging 2. 54 xG per 90 minutes. They were incredibly impressive during the group stage and were able to overtake PSG on the final day. Benfica drew PSG twice and for the entirety of the group stage had a +3. 5 xGD. Benfica did lose their best midfielder Enzo Fernandez at the transfer deadline, but this is a team stacked with talent across the board. Fernandez was their top ball progresser with 183 progressive passes on the season, but you have to remember he only arrived at Benfica this summer, so it’s not like they lost a crucial player that has been in their midfield for years.
The team is stacked with talent that can rip apart Brugge’s defense. Benfica are averaging 2. 54 xG per 90 minutes in the Portuguese Primiera Liga and also put up a whopping 10. 6 xG in their six Champions League group stage matches. Club Brugge vs. Benfica Pick I think this line is criminally low for Benfica, who have far better underlying metrics in a far more difficult league and have a ton more talent than Brugge, who are still trying to find their identity under a new manager. Per transfermarkt. com, Benfica’s total squad transfer value is $277. 5 million, while Brugge are only at $173.
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Club Brugge vs Benfica Champions League round of 16 preview
Scott Parker is now in charge, and that hasn’t been going well. Brugge got out of a group with Porto, Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid with a -3. 8 xGD. The reason for that was because Simon Mignolet played out of his mind in net, putting up a +5. 7 post shot xG +/-. The one match they got routed was by fellow Portuguese side Porto. Parker has Club Brugge playing out of a 4-3-3, which is the same formation under the previous manager Carl Hoefkens. Under Parker, Brugge have pressed a lot higher and with a lot of intensity since, but that has left them a tad open at the back. They’ve conceded 9. 8 xG in his seven matches in charge. The fear for Club Brugge here is if you can’t defend teams in the Belgian Pro League, what makes you think you can defend the best team outside of Europe’s top five leagues? Benfica Playing World Class Soccer Benfica are the best team outside of Europe’s top five leagues and they have put up unbelievable underlying metrics in the Portuguese Primiera Liga.
Club Brugge looking for Champions League spark vs. BenficaBRUSSELS — Three months ago, Club Brugge was hailed as the Bayern of Belgium. Now it’s only in fourth place in the Belgian league as new coach Scott Parker struggles to spark a revival, and the Champions League will provide another tough test when two-time European champion Benfica visits in the round of 16 on Wednesday. After Brugge won the Belgian league title for the third season in a row in May — and the 18th time overall — with an enthralling attacking brand of football, hopes were high at the club that it was just the start of a soccer dynasty as strong as Bayern Munich’s in Germany. Placed in a tough Champions League group that also included Porto, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, Brugge lived up to expectations last autumn to advance to the the last 16 of the competition for the first time in three decades.
Club Brugge vs Benfica live stream, score and H2H