Leicester look to clinch progress against lowly Brugge

Leicester City FC will look to take the final step towards qualification for the UEFA Champions League knockout stage when they host Club Brugge KV on matchday five.

• The English champions are unbeaten at the Group G summit and need only a draw to secure progress. Equally, they will be assured qualification if FC København fail to win at home against second-placed FC Porto in the group's other game.

• As for visitors Club Brugge, they need to win and hope FCK do not if they are to stay in contention for third place and entry into the UEFA Europa League.

Match background

Leicester
• Prior to this season, Leicester had not won a single game in European competition since 1961. They erased that statistic with a 3-0 win at Club Brugge on matchday one – the first of three straight victories in Group G.

• With their 0-0 draw at FCK last time out, Claudio Ranieri's tournament newcomers earned a fourth straight clean sheet. Along with Sevilla FC, they are one of only two group stage contenders yet to concede a goal.

• Leicester are aiming to become the first English side since Manchester United FC in 2010/11 to start a UEFA Champions League group campaign with five straight shutouts.

• If Leicester do achieve qualification for the last 16, it would be the fifth time in six attempts for manager Ranieri, who has previously advanced from the group stage with Chelsea FC, Juventus, AS Roma and FC Internazionale Milano.

Club Brugge
• The Belgian titleholders are one of only two clubs – together with GNK Dinamo Zagreb – yet to pick up a point in the group stage.

• Bottom-placed Brugge are aiming to avoid what would be a club-record fifth straight defeat in a single European campaign. They lost four in a row in 2015/16 and 2002/03 but those losing streaks were spread across both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League.

• Brugge have never won in England where their record reads P12 W0 D2 L10. This includes the 1978 European Cup final defeat by Liverpool FC at Wembley (0-1).

• Their most recent visit was for a 3-1 defeat at Manchester United FC in the UEFA Champions League play-off round last season.

• Their last victory over any English team was a 1-0 first-leg success against Chelsea FC in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals (agg 1-2).

Coach and player links
• Rival coaches Michel Preud'homme and Ranieri met in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals in 1996/97. Preud'homme was in goal for an SL Benfica side beaten 2-0 at home by a Ranieri-coached ACF Fiorentina, who advanced as 2-1 aggregate winners after a narrow second-leg defeat in Florence.

• Preud'homme was in the Belgium side beaten 1-0 by England in the round of 16 at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He was also in the R. Standard de Liège side beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Manchester City FC in the second round of the 1978/79 UEFA Cup.

• As Valencia coach Ranieri oversaw home (2-0) and away (2-1) wins over RSC Anderlecht in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Andy King appeared as a substitute in Wales's 3-1 quarter-final win over Belgium at UEFA EURO 2016.

• Daniel Amartey played alongside Claudemir at København in 2014/15. During that season Amartey scored for FCK in a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Shinji Okazaki hit the third goal in Japan's 4-0 friendly victory over a Belgium side including Timmy Simons and substitute Jelle Vossen in May 2009. Okazaki's VfB Stuttgart won 2-0 at KRC Genk in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32 to secure a 3-1 aggregate success.

• Marcin Wasilweski played for RSC Anderlecht from 2007 to 2013, winning four Belgian First League titles and one Belgian Cup.

• Vossen had spells with Middlesbrough FC and Burnley FC in England between 2014 and 2015.

• Ron-Robert Zieler, the expected deputy for the injured Kasper Schmeichel, faced Club Brugge with Hannover 96 in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 32, winning home (2-1) and away (1-0).

Match facts

Leicester
• Robert Huth and Islam Slimani are both a yellow card away from a ban.

• Leicester's 20-match unbeaten home run in the league ended when they succumbed 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion FC on 6 November.

• Ranieri's men have lost six of their 12 Premier League fixtures this season, three more defeats than they suffered in their title-winning campaign last term.

• Jamie Vardy's header in England's 2-2 draw against Spain on 15 November was his first goal in 15 matches for club and country.

• A goal from Demarai Gray helped England Under-21s to a 3-2 friendly win against Italy on 10 November.

• Vardy and Riyad Mahrez are on the 23-man shortlist for the Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 award, the winner of which is announced on 9 January.

Club Brugge
• Claudemir will incur a suspension with his next booking; Rudy Vormer serves a one-game ban.

• Brugge celebrated their 125th anniversary on 13 November.

• Timmy Simons appeared as a late substitute in Belgium's 8-1 victory over Estonia in the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, becoming the oldest-ever player to turn out for the Red Devils at the age of 39 years and 338 days.

• Björn Engels will sit out the rest of the group stage after suffering a shoulder injury against Leicester on matchday one.

• Lior Refaelov underwent surgery on his pubis on 22 August and has not played since.