The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League road takes FC Barcelona to Belgium and to the city of Bruges. Hansi Flick and the squad are set to play there in the gameweek four fixture of the League Phase, when they face Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel stadium (kick-off 9.00pm CET on 5 November).

The opponents

Club Brugge had to go through qualifying rounds to be in the 2025/26 Champions League proper, as they finished in second in the Belgian league's Champions' play-offs. All the same, they managed overcome Salzburg and Rangers to reach this stage.

45-year-old Nicky Hayen is the Club Brugge coach, having joined the club as caretaker during the 2023/24 season, moving up from the development side. They have since lifted three trophies – the 2023/24 league title, the Belgian Super Cup in 2025 and the 2024/25 Belgian Cup. It's worth noting that they got to the last 16 of the Champions League last season too.

In fact, Club Brugge have been regulars in the Champions league in recent years. The Belgians have reached at least the Group Stage (or current League Phase) six times since the 2018/19 season, only missing out in 2023/24. This season makes it seven out of the last eight and it will be their 25th time participating in the European Cup.

Players to watch

The club has seen four important and regular players depart from last year's squad – Ardon Jashari to AC Milan, De Cuyper to Brighton, Chemsdine Talbi to Sunderland and former blaugrana Ferran Jutglà to Celta.

The blue-and-blacks added five in the summer though – Aleksandar Stanković, Mamadou Diakhon, Nicolò Tresoldi, Ludovit Reis and Carlos Forbs – all aged between 19 and 25 years old, testament to their forward-looking approach and building out from the back playing style.

Hayen still has important players in each line from last season. A veteran of European football in Simon Mignolet remains in goal, the 37-year-old Belgian joined from Liverpool in 2019 and is now in his seventh season in Flanders.

Brandon Mechele remains a fixture in defence, and the centreback played 58 games in the 2024/25 season, only missing the first round of the Cup. 21-year-old Ecuadorian Joel Ordóñez is his defensive partner and played 49 games last season.

Hans Vanaken and Raphael Onyedika are the notable names in midfield. The former is the captain, with over 10 years and 517 games under his belt for Club Brugge, and 144 goals and 109 assists. The latter plays as the deep midfielder and his 151 games in three seasons for Club Brugge shows the Nigerian has a key role. The main man in attack is left winger Christos Tzolis, who scored 21 goals and provided 16 assists in the 2024/25 season. 

Past meetings

Barça and Club Brugge have only met twice, both in the 2002/03 season in the first group stage, with the blaugranes winning both games. The first at the Spotify Camp Nou on 18 September 2002 was 3-2 win, Luis Enrique, Mendieta and Saviola scoring the goals. The second at the Jan Breydel stadium on 19 October of the same year saw Juan Román Riquelme get the only goal in a 0-1 victory that included a debut for Andrés Iniesta.

The stadium

The Catalans and Belgians will meet in the UCL League Phase matchday four fixture this time and the match will be played at Club Brugge's home, the Jan Breydel stadium. It has a 29,000 capacity and is also home to another team in the city, Cercle Brugge. It was inaugurated in 1975 with the name Olympiastadion, and also hosted four games of the 2000 European Championships. 

History

Founded in 1891, Club Brugge are one of the most successful clubs in Belgian football. The side from the Flanders region have won 19 league titles, placing them in second on that metric behind Anderlecht with 34. Their cabinet also contains 12 Belgian Cups and 18 Belgian Super Cups, and they lead the way for wins in those trophies.

When it comes to Europe, the club's biggest achievements were back in the 1970s. In the 1975/76 and 1977/78 seasons, they reached the finals of the UEFA Cup and the European Cup respectively, losing both. Club Brugge's highest ever scorer in the Champions League is the current captain Vanaken with 15 and he has also made the most appearances in the competition for the club with 64.

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