Club Brugge vs Marseille Prediction: Belgium booking for Balerdi

Wednesday marks the eighth and final round of league-phase fixtures in this season’s Uefa Champions League, and one of the most high-stakes games comes from Jan Breydel Stadion in Belgium, where Club Brugge host French counterparts Olympique Marseille (20:00 GMT, Discovery+).

Below are my Club Brugge vs Marseille predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, as both sides eye a top-24 finish that would prolong their European campaign.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Team News

Christos Tzolis (back), Lynnt Audoor (muscle) and Dani van den Heuvel (knock) are out injured for Club Brugge, but Raphael Onyedika, who missed last week's 4-1 win at Kairat Almaty, returned to Ivan Leko's starting XI for Saturday's 4-3 victory over Waregem.

Football Odds

Benjamin Pavard is suspended for Marseille after receiving his third yellow card of the campaign in last week's 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Stade Velodrome.

Roberto De Zerbi will also be without Emerson (thigh) due to injury, while Bilal Nadir is a doubt after missing Saturday's 3-1 win against RC Lens through illness.

Club Brugge vs Marseille Odds

Club Brugge, who have won one, drawn one and lost one of their first three league-phase home games, are slight underdogs to claim all three points on Wednesday, with odds of 7/4 implying a 36.4% probability of success.

Marseille, meanwhile, are 7/5 favourites (41.7%), despite losing their first two away matches in the competition, although they did triumph 3-2 at another Belgian side, Union Saint-Gilloise, in their last trip outside France.

A first draw of the league phase for Marseille is offered at 13/5, while both teams to score, which has landed four times for both sides, is priced at 4/9.

Player to Receive a Card - Leonardo Balerdi (OLM) @ 2/1

Since making the move to Marseille from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2020, Leonardo Balerdi has established himself as one of the most aggressive defenders in French football.

The Argentina international has received one red card per full Ligue 1 season, amassing 34 yellow cards across those five campaigns, too.

After 14 league appearances this term, Balerdi has been cautioned three times, avoiding a red card so far, but he’s picking up yellows at a greater rate in Europe, having been booked twice in five matches (four starts).

Today's Football Fixtures

The 27-year-old is averaging 1.8 fouls per 90 minutes in the Champions League, and, remarkably, his two yellows in the competition have come in the second and third minutes against Sporting CP and Newcastle United, respectively.

Balerdi is likely to line up on the right-hand side of Marseille’s back three in Belgium, and that means he could be in close contact with the home side’s French winger, 20-year-old Mamadou Diakhon, who has been causing havoc for defenders this season.

Averaging a foul won every 25 minutes in the Jupiler Pro League, Diakhon has been tricky to mark in the Champions League, too. Despite only starting one of his six appearances, he has won five fouls, averaging 2.7 per 90.

Expect him to pose a few problems for Balerdi, who could well go into the book for his attempts to tackle the Frenchman.

Both Teams To Score and Total Goals Over/Under +3.5 - Yes & Over 3.5 @ 6/4

I’m predicting at least four goals in a contest where both really ought to be going all out for the three points, as a draw may not be enough for either, especially Club Brugge, to finish in the top 24 and progress to the next stage of the competition.

Marseille’s Champions League games this season are averaging 3.14 goals, and five of their seven matches, including all three away from home, have seen both teams score, the latest being a 3-2 win at USG on December 9.

There has been even more entertainment for those who have been regularly tuning into Club Brugge’s league-phase games, which are averaging 4.14 goals. Four of their seven contests have produced four or more strikes, including two of their three at home, a 4-1 victory over AS Monaco on September 18 and a 3-3 thriller with FC Barcelona on November 5.

Turbo Boost

Votes placed & calculated via @Betfred (X). Available from two hours before kick-off. Singles only. Max Stakes Vary. T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Opt in & build your own Bet Builder (3/1+) of 3+ legs on any Champions League match on Wednesday and get a 50% cash Winnings Bonus if your bet wins!

Get Turbo Boosted odds on the Champions League! (Available from 12:00 28/01)