Club Brugge vs. Arsenal: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Arsenal have their 100% record in the Champions League to protect on Wednesday night.

Club Brugge host Arsenal. / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Visionhaus/Getty Images

Arsenal are aiming to maintain their perfect record in the 2025–26 Champions League when they face Club Brugge in Gameweek 6 of the league phase.

The Gunners are the only team to win all five of their continental outings so far, and they produced perhaps their most impressive showing of the season to beat Bayern Munich 3–1 at the Emirates a fortnight ago.

Their excellent start means automatic progression into the round of 16 is all but guaranteed, and this game will hand Mikel Arteta the opportunity to shuffle around his fatiguing squad. On Saturday, Arsenal were beaten for just the second time this term, as Emiliano Buendía struck with the last kick to earn Aston Villa a memorable 2–1 victory at Villa Park.

The Premier League leaders are facing a Club Brugge outfit that just parted ways with manager Nicky Hayen, who was pivotal to their success last season. However, a run of two wins in seven games proved fatal for the Belgian coach. Brugge are down to third in the Pro League and have won just one of their five league phase outings.

They currently sit 26th with four points, and may well need to double their tally in the final three games to sneak into the knockout playoff round, which they qualified for under Hayen last term.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s guide to Wednesday’s Champions League clash.

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What Time Does Club Brugge vs. Arsenal Kick-Off?

• Location: Bruges, Belgium
• Stadium: Jan Breydelstadion
• Date: Wednesday, Dec. 10
• Kick-off Time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
• Referee: Sven Jablonski (GER)
• VAR: Sascha Stegemann (GER)

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Club Brugge vs. Arsenal Head-to-Head Record

This is the first competitive meeting between Club Brugge and Arsenal.

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Current Form (All Competitions)

Club Brugge	Arsenal
STVV 3–2 Club Brugge - 06/12/25	Aston Villa 1–1 Arsenal - 06/12/25
Oud-Heverlee Leuven 1–2 Club Brugge - 03/12/25	Arsenal 2–0 Brentford - 03/12/25
Club Brugge 0–1 Royal Antwerp - 30/11/25	Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal - 30/11/25
Sporting CP 3–0 Club Brugge - 26/11/25	Arsenal 3–1 Bayern Munich - 26/11/25
Club Brugge 1–0 Charleroi - 22/11/25	Arsenal 4–1 Tottenham - 23/11/25

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How to Watch Club Brugge vs. Arsenal on TV

Country	TV channel/live stream
United Kingdom	discovery+, discovery+ App, TNT Sports 2
United States	Paramount+, DAZN USA
Canada	DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada
Mexico	FOX One

• MORE: Full list of Champions League broadcasters around the world

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Club Brugge Team News

Club Brugge have sacked Nicky Hayen. / BRUNO FAHY/BELGA MAG/Belga/AFPGetty Images

Hayen’s successor, Ivan Leko, has a mightily tough assignment first up, with Brugge taking on Arsenal without an abundance of senior players.

First- and second-choice goalkeepers, Nordin Jackers and Simon Mignolet, are both out of action on Wednesday night, so former Leeds United shot-stopper Dani van den Heuvel is likely to start between the posts.

Zaid Romero is absent due to a back injury, while Ludovit Reis and Lynnt Audoor are doubts due to shoulder and muscle issues, respectively.

It’ll be interesting to see which system Leko adopts on his Brugge bow. His preference was a 3-4-2-1 at the start of the season with Gent, but he switched to a 4-2-3-1 for the final month of his tenure.

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Club Brugge Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal

Ivan Leko’s overseeing his first game in charge of Club Brugge. / FotMob

Club Brugge predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Van den Heuvel; Siquet, Ordóñez, Mechele, Seys; Onyedika, Stanković; Forbs, Vanaken, Tzolis; Vermant.

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Arsenal Team News

Declan Rice missed training on Tuesday. / Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard all missed training ahead of the trip to Bruges and are doubts for Wednesday’s game.

Arteta hinted at a swift return for Saliba last week, but the French defender is set to miss his fourth game in succession. Trossard returned from a brief absence at the weekend but has picked up another knock, while Rice travelled to Villa Park with a minor calf issue but played 90 minutes.

Leaving the England international out would probably be wise, given how much he’ll be relied upon by Arteta during the second half of the season.

Cristhian Mosquera is sidelined until the new year with an ankle injury, while Gabriel and Kai Havertz also remain in the treatment room for the Gunners. Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyökeres, Christian Nørgaard, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly should all come into the starting XI.

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Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Club Brugge

There’s likely to be plenty of changes to Arsenal’s front six. / FotMob

Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Club Brugge (4-3-3): Raya; White, Timber, Hincapié, Lewis-Skelly; Nørgaard, Merino, Nwaneri; Saka, Gyökeres, Martinelli.

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Club Brugge vs. Arsenal Score Prediction

The change of manager from the hosts could throw a spanner in the works, with Leko potentially giving an out-of-form Brugge life. The decision seems harsh on Hayen, though, given what he achieved at the club last season.

Both teams are bound to be depleted for this encounter, and Arsenal are set for a fight in Bruges. Plenty have had difficulties at the Jan Breydelstadion over the years, including Barcelona last month, and Arsenal are unlikely to blitz past their opponents on Wednesday.

Instead, a slog in Belgium is on the cards for the visitors, who could throw it back to their autumnal peak and decide the contest via one slick set-piece routine.

Prediction: Club Brugge 0–1 Arsenal

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