Welcome to cfrealmadrid.com. We are presenting the Match Preview of Club Brugge vs Real Madrid of Match Day 6 of UEFA Champions League today. The Champions league action is back with the last match of group stages. Both of the teams belong to Group A. From group A, PSG and Real Madrid already qualified with first and second positions respectively. So, The result of this match will have no effect on the qualification.
Coming to the match facts, Both of teams have not lost in their last five respective matches. Club Brugge are unbeaten in three Champions League meetings with Real Madrid (W1 D2); this is the most Real Madrid have faced an opponent without yet winning in the history of the competition.
Interestingly, It is the 28th consecutive UEFA Champions League group stage that Real Madrid have progressed from. Moreover, Among managers to have taken charge of 10 away games in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has the best win ratio (59%), winning 10 of his 17 matches in charge. Lets discuss the match Preview of Club Brugge vs Real Madrid in detail:
Club Brugge vs Real Madrid-Match Preview:
The performance of the our team is at stake now a days because of the tough fixtures ahead as well as the injury crises. Zidane but somehow he is managing the team with the youth and Bench strength. As this is a great opportunity for the youth like Vinicius Jr. , Rodrygo , Jovic and Brahim to test their skills at higher level. I will expect the same strategy of playing youth and testing the bench strength against Brugge also in Europe.
Real Madrid played the home match against Brugge and drew the match with 2-2. Casemiro and Sergio Ramos were among the goal scorers. From Brugge it was Dennis who put two goals against us. Now it is the time for Real Madrid to conquer their win against the Belgian side in their own town.
Though, the result does not matter but it will definitely helpful for us to gain confidence for the upcoming matches. However, Zidane has its own plans. Zidane has left Sergio Ramos and Kroos from the squad for the rotation policy and sake of resting these players. Nacho is back in the squad after a long time because of his injury.
It will be interesting to see which formation of playing Zidane choose for this match? Zidane is very comfortable with 4-4-2 formation which actually worked against PSG but in the squad, we can see many wingers which will force him to play conventional 4-3-3 formation. In the last match Zidane opted the latter one. I am feeling that Zizou will go with Isco in the free role along with Benzema and Rodrygo most probably. The other options are Jovic, Bale or Vinicius, which was at his best in the last match.
Kick-off Timings:
The match between Club Brugge vs Real Madrid will kick off on 11th December, 2019 , Wednesday at 09:00 P.M. C.E.T at Jan Breydel Stadium in Belgium.Tobias Stieler of Germany will be the referee.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Courtois, Areola, and Altube.
Defenders: Carvajal, Odriozola, Militao, Varane, Nacho and Mendy.
Midfielders: Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, and Isco.
Attackers: Benzema, Jovic , Bale, Brahim, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.
Starting line-up:
( 4-4-2 ) Courtois- Odriozola, Varane , Militao, Mendy-Casemiro, Modric, Valverde, Isco- Rodrygo, Benzema.
Goalkeeper:
Thibaut Courtois will most probably start for us against Brugge. He has finally arrived in the club. He made 6 out 8 clean sheet in the last 8 matches he played for the Los Blancos. The goals of matches in which he conceded, was the shear mistakes from Sergio Ramos and Varane. He is good overall and is improving day by day. However, Zidane may put backup French goalkeeper Areola against Brugge.
Defenders:
In the heart of defense, Varane and Militao will start the game. Militao really impressed in the games he played. Varane had best match of the season with a goal in the last week against Espanyol. Both of them played together in the Ramos absence against PSG at Parc de Paris in which Madrid deteriorated in defense. Now, it is time to show that this defense is of great worth without the captain because Ramos is aging and both of these have the future in Madrid. So we expect a good display from both of them.
In the right back position, I will suggest that Odriozola must play the game and Carvajal should be rested. Madrid is already short of proper left back against Valencia, so injury or any other crises will make the defense weak against Valencia and Barcelona. Odriozola was having great last season but coming back to starting spot against highly pressure games can be very difficult.
Mendy received the red card against Espanyol and suspended against Valencia but he will be available for Champions league clash against Brugge. It was seen that he struggles in maintaining his balance coming forward. He is bit slippery in the field sometimes. Alternatively, Having defensively studded , one advantage is with him that he never play out of position football. So with him in the back, we can take of sign of relief when our centre backs played high on the pitch.
Midfielders:
I think Zidane will have the idea of playing 4 midfielders in the centre and then will play conventionally to 3 midfielders in the later stages of the match. Modric and Isco will come in the starting spots after the last game. It is quite evident from some last matches, chances creation are much increased when Modric starts the game. Modric has been the crux of Madrid midfield from many years. Although his age does not support him but his performance in the field really astonished the watchers.
Modric is having one of the best season in new role this season. He has scored 4 goals equal to his best season in Madrid years ago. The emergence of Valverde in the role of his deputy really shared his workload this season. Valverde is in the best touch and really treat to watch in his box to box midfield role. He performs his role excellently. He has his big future ahead in the Real Madrid. Zidane is also giving him fair chances. The loan of Ceballos and transfer of Kovacic to Chelsea worked great for him.
Isco have reshaped itself in this season. Coming into the form against PSG after diminishing his presence at the club, Isco has to play regularly for putting his name in Euro 2020 squad. I think Zidane will start him against Brugge. With Isco in the free role , the role of full backs becomes more important as both have to cover the forward line distance more in the absence of wingers. Isco has great chemistry with Marcelo, but this time he will not be available. It will be interesting how the other two midfielders in the box shape with him?
We only have one midfielder in the holding position which is the Brazilian Giant Casemiro. Casemiro is in best form this season. He is the most used player of this season as we do not have his back up. We should consider of taking a defending midfielder rather than a centre midfielder because we already have many of them loaned out or in the squad in next Transfer Window.
Attackers:
Benzema is the most useful player of this season. He is in great form. Benzema already scored 4 goals in the Champions league campaign. His work rate on the pitch is really impressive especially defensive work at the back. On the other hand, Vinicius played good game against Espanyol and impressed the World. He has to play more minutes in this match.
Rodrygo who scored his champions league hat trick against Galatasaray. This match is also great opportunity to play him on the right wing. Gareth Bale is also coming back from the injury. Brahim Diaz is another name in the cards. With his left foot, he can be a great threat on the right flank when Bale is not on the pitch.
The other player is the Serbian Forward Luka Jovic. Having transferred to the club this season, Jovic find hard to settle in the new club. However, he has plenty of promise and potential and can be very useful one he starts likewise his last season for Eintracht Frankfurt . He scored 17 goals in last season. We expect and hope that he will bring similar performances for the Los Blancos also.
Match Prediction:
Brugge will be confident for progressing the team to Europa League as they are on the third spot in the table but win over Real Madrid will confirmed their spot in Europa League. Real Madrid should win this game by plenty of goals as we are much better side considering our form.
Verdict:
Real Madrid should end the group stage of Champions League in a positive note. Well Guys, this is it from the Brugge vs Real Madrid Match Preview. Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments below. We shall meet soon with the Review of the game. Until next time, Hala Madrid!
