Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund predictions: BVB to begin with victory
- Borussia Dortmund were beaten finalists last season
- Club Brugge's best CL performance is making last-16 in 2023
- Recommended bet: Borussia Dortmund to win
Last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund will expect to kick off their Champions League campaign with victory at Club Brugge.
The Bundesliga giants, who were beaten 2-0 in the final in June by Real Madrid, begin this time around with a tricky assignment against the Belgian champions, but BVB should be good enough to get off to a winning start.
Team news
Kyriani Sabbe is fit again for the home side after a recent injury, but Bjorn Meijer and Casper Nielsen are still on the sidelines.
Danish winger Andreas Skov Olsen, who has notched three goals already this season, is set to start out wide, while teenage star Chemsdine Talbi will be hoping for a a recall to the line-up after he came off the bench and scored at the weekend.
Summer signing Serhou Guirassy is tipped to start up front for Dortmund alongside Karim Adeyemi, who scored twice in the win over Heidenheim on Friday.
Winger Yan Couto and midfielder Gio Reyna are both major injury doubts for the visitors.
The stats
Dortmund were crowned European champions in 1997 and have been beaten finalists twice (2013 and 2024).
BVB are second in the Bundesliga following wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Heidenheim and a draw with Werder Bremen so far.
Club Brugge are top in Belgium with a record of four wins, one draw and two defeats from their first seven matches.
Club Brugge were runners-up in the old European Cup when they lost to Liverpool in the 1978 final.
Dortmund have won three of the last four meetings between the sides in this competition, without conceding a goal.
Prediction
Dortmund have a much greater recent European pedigree than Brugge, having made it all the way to the final last season before they went down to Real at Wembley.
BVB are seasoned Champions League campaigners and have made it out of the group stage in nine of the last 11 years.
In this year's revamped competition, the German giants will believe they are good enough to once again progress to the last 16, this time as one of the top eight teams, although getting off to a winning start will be vital.
Brugge will be no pushovers and are top of the Belgian league with 13 points acquired from their first seven matches, including a 3-0 win at Kortrijk at the weekend.
However, this represents a stiff test for the hosts as they prepare to face the likes of Julian Brandt, Emre Can, Donyell Malen, Adeyemi and co.
The visitors, who are unbeaten in four games so far, warmed up with a 4-2 home success in the league over Heidenheim at the weekend and they will be confident of securing all three points.
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