Club Brugge travels to Ghent on matchday four of the Champions' Play-Offs. In the Planet Group Arena, the Blues will be aiming for their fourth consecutive win in this campaign. Read everything you need to know about the match here!
The match
Club Brugge has remained unbeaten so far in the Champions' Play-Offs. After an important 1-0 home win at Jan Breydel against league leaders Genk, the Blues are preparing for the third Battle of Flanders of the season.
The 159th encounter between Club and the Buffalos is scheduled on Sunday, and it will be the 80th time the duel takes place in Ghent. Of the previous 79 away matches in East Flanders, the Blues came out on top 27 times, drew 22 times, and lost 30 times.
Club has failed to win any of their last four league matches away at Gent, drawing once and losing the other three. Under coach Nicky Hayen, the Blues have yet to beat Gent. Last season, the Buffalos didn’t qualify for the Champions' Play-Offs, but this season, Club lost 2-4 at home and drew 1-1 in a match where Dante Vanzeir scored a stoppage-time equalizer.
If Club avoids defeat tomorrow, they will be unbeaten in 15 consecutive Play-Off matches. Club started both the 2022 and 2024 Play-Offs with 10 out of 12 points—their two best starts to date. That could change against Gent: with a win, they would begin a Play-Off campaign with 12 out of 12 for the first time in 15 attempts. Last season, Hayen recorded six straight Play-Off wins, a record he can equal with a win in Ghent.
So far in this campaign, the Blues have had the most goal attempts (59), with 27 on target. They’ve scored six times, despite an xG of only 2.23.
If Club scores twice in Ghent, they’ll reach 300 goals against the Buffalos across all competitions. The last time the Blues scored more than once away at Gent was in March 2021—a 0-4 win.
Christos Tzolis is Club’s top scorer with 10 goals. He has contributed to a goal in every Play-Off match so far: scoring against Anderlecht, netting and assisting versus Antwerp, and winning a penalty against Genk. With two Play-Off goals this campaign, he is tied for third in the top scorer standings. Sunday will be his first match at the Planet Group Arena, having missed the previous clash due to suspension.
Hans Vanaken has already delivered 10 assists, making him the team’s top playmaker. His debut for Club Brugge was against Gent in the 2015 Supercup.
The opponent
Gent has qualified for the Champions' Play-Offs eight times, but this is their first appearance in six years. They were champions in 2015 and finished second in 2010 and 2016.
In the past eight Play-Off campaigns involving Gent, they remained unbeaten at home against the Blues six times. A win on Sunday would mark Gent’s 30th victory ever in the Play-Offs.
Gent started this Play-Off campaign with 0 points from their first two matches, losing 4-0 at Genk and 0-3 at home against Union. Last week, they secured their first win away, at Antwerp, with former Club Brugge player Noah Fadiga scoring the only goal.
On Sunday, the Buffalos will have to play without their top scorer Max Dean. The forward, who scored six goals this season, has been sidelined since December with an ACL injury. Franck Surdez is Gent’s top assist provider, with five.
Milestones
- Hans Vanaken could play his 500th match for Club Brugge: 369 league games (including Sunday), 40 cup matches, 5 Supercups, and 86 European games.
- Simon Mignolet could play his 700th official career match: 206 for STVV, 101 for Sunderland, 204 for Liverpool, and 289 for Club Brugge (after Sunday).
- Ferran Jutglà could make his 100th league appearance for Club.
- Joel Ordóñez could play his 75th match for the Blues.
- Raphael Onyedika could play his 90th Jupiler Pro League match.
The Man in Black
The Battle of Flanders will be refereed by Mr. Jan Boterberg. His assistants are Mr. Kevin Dhondt and Mr. Nick Senecaut, with Mr. Lawrence Visser serving as fourth official. VAR duties will be handled by Mr. Lothar D'Hondt, assisted by Mr. Romain Devillers and Mr. Jasper Vitse.
The Planet Group Arena is familiar ground for Mr. Boterberg. He has refereed 12 Gent home matches there—five wins and a draw between the Buffalos and Club earlier this season. He has refereed 10 Club Brugge matches, with the last three away games resulting in two wins and one draw for the Blues.