Can you feel it already? A nailbiter awaits tonight as Club Brugge take on Olympique de Marseille at home on the final match day of the Champions League League Phase. Find out all there is to know about this game below.
THE FIXTURE
On Wednesday night, Club Brugge will be closing the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League with a home match against Olympique de Marseille. In its 385th European game in club history, Club will be facing a Marseille side playing its 273rd European game. The meeting is also the 99th European encounter between a Belgian and a French team. For Club, it is the 120th UEFA Champions League match, 82 of which have been played since the introduction of the group stage, in the team's 12th group stage campaign, compared to Marseille's 13th. In the current UEFA coefficient rankings, the clubs are ranked 20th (71,750 points) and 44th (54,000 points), respectively.
The two teams will be crossing swords for the third time in history, with the previous two dating back to the 1992-1993 group stages of the very first edition of the UEFA Champions League. Club Brugge was in a group with Marseille, Rangers FC and CSKA Moscow, in which Marseille would come out on top and would eventually make it to the trophy beating AC Milan, capturing its only European trophy. The fixture at the Stade Vélodrome ended in a 3-0 defeat for Club, after Franck Sauzée converted a penalty kick and Alen Bokšić scored twice. In Bruges, that same Bokšić proved Club's scourge again opening the scoring early on in a game featuring Club legends the likes of Dany Verlinden, Vital Borkelmans, Gert Verheyen and Daniel Amokachi, but also Fabien Barthez, Basile Boli, Marcel Desailly and Rudi Völler on the visitors' side. Managing the two sides were Belgian coaches: Hugo Broos at Club and Raymond Goethals at Marseille.
In 26 European matches facing French teams, Club's home record features 6 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats (24 goals scored, 18 conceded) in 14 games. In nine earlier Champions League matches against French opponents, Club gathered to 2 wins, 2 draws and 5 defeats. Marseille played Belgian opponents five times before, making it to 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat (6-6 in goals). In the Champions League, Marseille won all of its three previous encounters with Belgian clubs.
In the teams' history, only five players have worn both the Club Brugge and the Olympique de Marseille shirt: Jean-Pierre Papin, Kenneth Brylle-Larsen, Andrés Mendoza, Wilfried Dalmat and Luan Peres. In addition, goalkeeper Jelle Van Neck featured in Club's youth ranks before moving to Marseille. Erik Gerets was the only coach to ever have been in charge of both clubs. Tonight's encounter will be a special one for Mamadou Diakhon, having beaten Marseille with Stade Reims as recently as March 2025, scoring as well as providing an assist. Not yet eligible to play in Europe on Wednesday, Félix Lemaréchal is one of 10 Frenchmen who have ever played for Club Brugge, along with Ludovic Butelle, Mohamed Dahmane, Wilfried Dalmat, Faitout Maouassa, Stanley Nsoki, Jean-Pierre Papin, Jérémy Perbet and Benoît Poulain. With Gilbert Gress, Club had just the one French manager in the past.
In the last game of this UCL League Phase, Club needs a win to advance to the next round. Last week, Club recorded a second win in this UCL edition at FC Kairat Almaty as Aleksandar Stanković, Hans Vanaken, Romeo Vermant and Brandon Mechele made it 1-4. Vanaken's goal took his total number of UCL goals to 12, allowing him to quietly approach the 150-goal mark for Club. In all European campaigns, the tally stands at 24 goals. Mechele scored his first in 44 Champions League games and now sits at 40 directly involved in all European competitions. In Astana, Club started with five players from its own youth, marking this as its 60th consecutive European match with at least one Club NXT player at kick-off.
Founded back in 1899, Olympique Marseille has made it to eight national titles and 10 French cups so far. The club won the very first edition of the UEFA Champions League and features great icons such as Jean-Pierre Papin, Basile Boli, Didier Drogba and Josip Skoblar. In charge since 2024 is coach Roberto De Zerbi, helping Marseille to the runner-up position last season. With 22 goals, Mason Greenwood earned the top scorer's title. This season, the team currently sits in third position in the Ligue 1. Last weekend, the clash with RC Lens ended in a 3-1 win. In the cup, a duel with Stade Rennais awaits soon, and in the Super Cup this season Marseille lost to PSG after penalty kicks.
With 9 points, Marseille is currently in 19th position in the Champions League, and a draw will suffice to make it to the play-off round. The European campaign has so far seen three wins - at home against Ajax and Newcastle United and away at Union SG - and four defeats. Once again, the team's top scorer is Mason Greenwood at this point, having netted 20 goals, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has the most assists at this point. Some new acquisitions, such as Quinten Timber and Ethan Nwaneri, are not yet eligible to play on Wednesday.
Club Brugge can reach three wins in a UCL competition stage for the third time on Wednesday and can advance to the group stage for the first time in history for two seasons in a row. In this campaign, Club already scored 12 times. Only once did the team prove more productive: last season, Club scored 13 goals in 12 games. Marseille lost 12 of its last 14 away games in the Champions League, although it still won its most recent game on Belgian soil at Union SG. Coach De Zerbi won three times against Belgian teams. Hans Vanaken already has five UCL assists to his name this season, a record for a Club player in one campaign.
THE MILESTONES
- Brandon Mechele can play his 530th game for Club Brugge.
- For Hugo Vetlesen, it could be his 120th match at Club.
- Joaquin Seys can be in action for Blue & Black for the 75th time.
- Nordin Jackers can be between the posts for the 50th time at FCB.
- If Simon Mignolet is in goal, it will be the 90th European match of his career (25 for Liverpool FC, 64 for Club Brugge so far).
THE MAN IN BLACK
An Italian referee for tonight's thriller: Mr. Italian Marco Guida has been active in Serie A for 16 years now and has been on the FIFA list since 2014. He also featured at the past European Championships in Germany. He will be joined on Friday by his compatriots: Mr. Giorgio Peretti and Mr. Giuseppe Perrotti as linesmen, Mr. Matteo Marcenaro as fourth official. The VAR during this match is Mr. Daniele Chiffi, assisted by Mr. Aleandro Di Paolo. Mr. Guida will be a new face for Club Brugge, as he has never before officiated a game involving Club. However, he did already conduct European duels of KV Ostend, KRC Genk, Standard Liège and Antwerp, with the Belgian teams claiming 10 out of 12 under his guidance.