Sturm Graz vs Club Brugge predictions: Belgian champs looks more reliable
- Both teams were defeated on Matchday One
- Sturm Graz have lost all of their last four Champions League home games
- Recommended bet: Club Brugge Over 1.5 Goals
Sturm Graz and Club Brugge will go head-to-head in Austria with both clubs having the chance to get their first UEFA Champions League points of the campaign on the board.
Sturm Graz went down 2-1 at French debutants Brest on Matchday One and Club Brugge were undone at home by a trio of second half goals from Borussia Dortmund.
Now the champions of Austria and Belgium will square off, with three all-important points in the new-look Champions League on the table.
Team News
Sturm Graz will be without defender Dimitri Lavalee, who was sent off in the defeat against Brest last time, meaning Arjan Malic may start.
Fellow defender Alexandar Borkovic is working back to full fitness but may find this game comes too soon, while Gregory Wuthrich has suffered ligament damage and is sidelined.
Midfielder Jon Gorenc Stankovic went off injured in the win over Linz at the week and will have to be assessed.
Promising Brugge defender Bjorn Meijer (knee) is still in recovery and so Maxim De Cuyper is likely to start again, while Hugo Vetlesen and Hans Vanaken are part of the attacking midfield unit.
The stats
Sturm Graz are back in the Champions League proper for the first since 2001/02, while last season they lost four of their six home European game.
Sturm Graz have lost all of their last four Champions League games at Merkur Arena.
Christian Ilzer's side won the Austrian Bundesliga last season, ending Salzburg's run of 10 titles in a row.
This is Club Brugge's 11th campaign in the Champions League and the Belgian side have lost only five of their last 15 away matches in the competition.
Prediction
We are still very much in the early stages of this revamped Champions League league phase and this is exactly the sort of contest that leaves us pondering matters.
These clubs would, in the old format, be expected to be battling to avoid finishing bottom of a four-team group in all probability, with a parachute down to the Europa League their strongest chance of post-Christmas continental football.
The jigsaw pieces have moved irrevocably now and it's a place in the top 24 from 32 they require to advance to the knockouts.
They meet only once and three points from a fixture such as this will go a long way to helping them make the next stage.
All that being said, it's hard to pick a winner. Sturm Graz were poor against Brest last time on their return to this stage after more than two decades and they were decidedly second-best against the French newcomers
Brugge for their part were decent for long spells despite eventually coming undone against an excellent Dortmund side. They had chances to go ahead and it might have been very different.
Nicky Hayen's side have the ability to hurt their hosts and are taken to at least hit the net on a couple of occasions.
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