Club Brugge vs Monaco Prediction: Tough test for the visitors

Club Brugge and Monaco go head-to-head at Jan Breydel Stadium on Thursday (17:45 BST, TNT Sports 3) for their Uefa Champions League opener. The Belgian hosts made it to the round of 16 last season, bowing out against Aston Villa.

Monaco fell in the knockout phase play-offs last term and they will be hoping for further improvement in 2025/26. Below you will find my Club Brugge vs Monaco predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Brugge were without Hugo Vetlesen, Ludovit Reis and Joaquin Seys because of minor knocks in their latest Belgian Pro League fixture, while Romeo Vermant was sidelined with a muscle problem.

Christos Tzolis, Aleksandar Stankovic, Hans Vanakan and Nicolo Tresoldi found the back of the net in their second leg triumph over Rangers in the qualifying play-offs, while Seys had a brace in that statement victory.

Former Liverpool and Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet will operate between the sticks for the hosts, while Carlos Forbs, who spent last season on loan at Wolves, is likely to start in attack.

Football Odds

Monaco’s first-choice goalkeeper, Lukas Hradecky, suffered a knee injury in late August, while former Brugge youth player Stanis Idumbo is doubtful due to a hip flexor and Aleksandr Golovin missed their weekend meeting with Auxerre because of muscular ailments.

Former wonder kid Ansu Fati is edging closer to making his debut, having arrived on loan from Barcelona in the summer, while boss Adi Hutter has suggested that Paul Pogba may not be ready to feature until after the next international break.

Club Brugge vs Monaco Odds

Brugge won two of their four league phase fixtures last season and they are 7/4 to come out on top on Thursday.

The draw is available at 13/5. Monaco are 6/4 (implied probability of 40%) to come away with the victory and they have won three of their last four competitive fixtures heading into this clash.

Both teams to score has been a winning selection in two of the previous three meetings between the two sides in the Champions League.

Draw or Monaco @ 4/9

As we saw last season in the first-ever league phase format of the competition, teams didn't need to be mind-blowing to get through to the knockout stage, and for some teams it took them a while to click in Europe.

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain needed a few games to get going but once it gelled, they were impossible to stop.

These two teams are not coming into this campaign with the same lofty ambitions as PSG, but they will both want to reach the knockout stage again. Monaco have more pedigree in their ranks but their away form is a big concern - winning just one of their past 12 away trips in the UCL.

They do have winning momentum from Ligue 1, though, winning their last two fixtures before this trip to Belgium, and this could set them up to help arrest their away form on Europe's biggest stage.

However, Brugge was a tough place to visit last term with the Belgian outfit tasting just one defeat in the league phase, so this will be a tough test for Monaco. As a result I think the added insurance of a draw may be best suited here.

Both teams to score @ 8/15

Monaco have a lot of quality in attack but there are still concerns surrounding their defence, having managed just one clean sheet in their last eight league games. I think BTTS is an attractive selection for this contest.

There have been goals at both ends in three of the visitors' four Ligue 1 fixtures this season. Additionally, BTTS has been a successful bet in three of Brugge's previus six competitive appearances - with two coming in the UCL qualifiers.

Offers

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