Paris v Club Brugge facts

Having emphatically ended Club Brugge's six-match unbeaten record in the UEFA Champions League group stage on Matchday 3, Paris Saint-Germain welcome the Belgian side to France with progress from Group A in sight.

• The French champions and league leaders enjoyed a 5-0 success in Bruges last time out, Kylian Mbappé scoring three goals and Mauro Icardi two as Paris made it three wins from three in the section, with nine goals for and none against, making them the only team yet to concede in this season's group stage.

• That has given Paris a five-point lead in the standings, with Club Brugge third on two points. A fourth victory would therefore guarantee Paris's place in the round of 16 with two matches to spare.

Form guide
Paris
• On Matchday 1 Ángel Di María's two goals helped Paris to a 3-0 defeat of Real Madrid, before Icardi's first goal for the club earned a 1-0 success at Galatasaray in the French club's 100th UEFA Champions League game. Matchday 3 marked the fourth time Paris have won their first three matches in a group in the competition, and the second in three seasons, and also equalled their biggest European away win.

• Ligue 1 champions for the sixth time in seven years in 2018/19, and eighth time overall, this is the French side's eighth successive UEFA Champions League campaign.

• Semi-finalists in 1995, Paris have been knocked out in the round of 16 in the last three seasons – having been eliminated in the quarter-finals in the four previous campaigns.

• In 2018/19, Paris finished first in a section including eventual champions Liverpool, Napoli and Crvena zvezda, and looked set to reach the quarter-finals after a 2-0 first-leg victory at Manchester United in the round of 16, only to bow out on away goals following a 3-1 home defeat.

• The second-leg defeat against United was only the Parisian club's third reverse in their last 52 European home games since crashing 4-2 to Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage (W33 D16) – they went down 3-1 to Barcelona in the 2014/15 quarter-finals and 2-1 against Real Madrid in the 2017/18 round of 16 second leg.

• The 3-0 defeat of Madrid in this season's opener was a first clean sheet for Paris in seven UEFA Champions League home games.

• Before travelling to Bruges on Matchday 3, the Parisian side last faced Belgian opposition in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage, beating Anderlecht away (4-0) and at home (5-0). Matchday 3 made it nine matches against Belgian clubs without defeat (W5 D4), since a 3-0 loss at Waterschei in the 1982/83 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final second leg (2-3 aggregate).

• The French club have therefore scored 14 goals without conceding in winning their last three games against Belgian clubs, and have hit 27 in their last six such matches with two against (W5 D1).

• Paris's record at home to Belgian clubs is W3 D2.

• Despite this season's results, Paris have won only seven of their last 14 UEFA Champions League matches (D2 L5), although they have now scored in 27 consecutive games in the competition.

Club Brugge
• Club Brugge kicked off this season's group stage with a 0-0 draw at home to Galatasaray, their third successive goalless draw in the UEFA Champions League proper. They ended that sequence on Matchday 2 with a 2-2 draw at Real Madrid, Emmanuel Bonaventure's first-half double having seemingly put them on course for a memorable victory only for the home side to hit back and end the Belgian side's sequence of four straight clean sheets.

• The defeat by Paris last time out – the club's heaviest at home in UEFA competition – ended a six-match unbeaten run in the group stage; the five goals Club Brugge conceded were two more than in their previous six group matches combined.

• Last season the Blauw-Zwart finished third behind Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid on six points, five ahead of Monaco. Having lost their first two fixtures, the Belgian club were unbeaten in their last four – the sole victory a 4-0 win at Monaco that represented their biggest away success in the competition. Club Brugge then moved into the UEFA Europa League, losing to Salzburg in the round of 32 (2-1 h, 0-4 a).

• Despite the win at Monaco – which ended a 13-year, 11-game run without a victory (D2 L9) – Club Brugge have won only three of their last 21 fixtures in the UEFA Champions League proper (D6 L12).

• This season Club Brugge got the better of Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round (1-0 h, 3-3 a) before a play-off victory against Austrian side LASK (1-0 a, 2-1 h). Their results on Matchdays 1 and 2 made it ten UEFA Champions League games without defeat (W4 D6), qualifying included, before the home loss to Paris.

• Club Brugge may have won two of their last six away European matches (D3 L1) but those are their only successes in the last 18 such outings (D5 L11).

• Despite that emphatic win at Monaco last season, Club Brugge's record away to French clubs is W2 D1 L7; the sole other victory was a 2-1 success at Châteauroux in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup first round second leg.

• Second in Belgium behind Genk in 2018/19, this is Club Brugge's seventh UEFA Champions League group campaign, and their third in four years. They have never progressed to the knockout rounds.

• Runners-up to Liverpool in 1978, Club Brugge remain the only team from Belgium to have reached a European Cup final.

Links and trivia
• Thomas Meunier was a Club Brugge player between 2011 and 2016, scoring 14 goals in 149 league appearances. He was part of the side that won the Belgian Cup in 2014/15 and the league title the following season.

• Meunier made his professional debut for third division side Virton in 2009, joining Club Brugge two years later. He had spent time in the youth ranks at Virton (2006–09) having previously been on the books at Saint-Ode (1996–2002), Givry (2002–04) and Standard Liège (2004–06).

• Philippe Clement was an assistant coach at Club Brugge when Meunier was a player from 2012 to 2016.  

• International team-mates:
Thomas Meunier & Simon Mignolet, Hans Vanaken, Jelle Vossen, Brandon Mechele (Belgium)
Idrissa Gueye & Mbaye Diagne, Krépin Diatta (Senegal)
Edinson Cavani & Federico Ricca (Uruguay)

Latest news

Paris
• Mauro Icardi's second goal at Club Brugge was Paris's 200th in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final.

• Thomas Meunier made his 50th appearance in UEFA club competition on Matchday 3.

• Julian Draxler has played 49 matches in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final.

• Thomas Tuchel's side suffered a third Ligue 1 defeat of the season on Friday, going down 2-1 at Dijon in the 12th round of matches; their third league defeat in 2018/19 came in their 32nd match.

• Paris have lost eight Ligue 1 games in 2019, their worst tally since suffering 13 defeats in 2010. They last suffered three defeats in their first 12 league matches in 2010/11.

• Kylian Mbappé found the net for the fourth match in a row at Dijon.

• Paris had won their previous six games in all competitions, scoring four or more goals in four in a row before Friday.

• Icardi and Mbappé both scored twice in a 4-0 home win againt Marseille on 27 October, with Ángel Di Maria providing three assists.

• Icardi had scored in five successive Paris games, seven goals in total, before drawing a blank at Dijon.

• On 30 October, Marco Verratti signed a three-year contract extension until June 2024.

• Ander Herrera (ankle) and Verratti (calf) have not trained since taking part in the win against Marseille, a match in which Herrara was substituted late on, and missed the defeat at Dijon.

• Meunier has not played since Matchday 3 due to a thigh injury.

• Mbappé was out between out since 25 August and 28 September due to a problem with his left hamstring; since returning to action, he has scored seven goals and provided two assists in 206 minutes of pitch time.

• Edinson Cavani (hip) appeared for the first time since 25 August against Marseille.

• On 16 October Paris announced Idrissa Gueye had suffered a hamstring injury; he returned to play 90 minutes at Dijon. Draxler, who had been out since 18 August with a foot injury, also featured in that game.

• Thilo Kehrer (out since 11 August, foot) has been sidelined. Neymar has not played since suffering a thigh injury early in Brazil's friendly against Nigeria on 13 October.

• Neymar, who was suspended for the first three Ligue 1 games, scored late winning goals in his first three appearance for Paris this season, 1-0 victories at home to Strasbourg on 14 September, at Lyon on 22 September and at Bordeaux on 28 September. He was also on target in a 4-0 defeat of Angers on 5 October.

• Neymar has scored 38 goals in 42 Ligue 1 appearances for Paris, who have never lost a league game in which the Brazilian has found the net (W26 D3).

• Paris won the French Super Cup on 3 August, defeating French Cup winners Rennes 2-1 thanks to goals from Mbappé and Di María. It was Paris's ninth win in the competition and their seventh in a row, a new record.

Club Brugge
• Club Brugge are still unbeaten in the league this season (W10 D3). They have scored 32 goals and conceded only four, keeping nine clean sheets; they were 3-0 winners at home to Kortrijk on Saturday and have a six-point advantage at the top of the table.

• Hans Vanaken has found the net in three of Club Brugge's seven UEFA Champions League fixtures so far this season. He has also struck eight goals in the league, including two on Saturday.

• David Okereke scored the other goal against Kortrijk; he struck four times in Club Brugge's first three league games this season but did not find the net again in the competition until the 1-1 draw at home to Standard Liège on 27 October. He has now struck in the last three league matches.

• Federico Ricca was out between Matchday 1 and a 2-0 win at Zulte Waregem on 30 October due to a knock.

• Éder Balanta suffered a hamstring injury in a 3-0 Belgian Cup win at third division side Francs Borains on 25 September, returning to action on Matchday 3.

• Matej Mitrović played 90 minutes on Saturday having been sidelined since a 2-1 home win against Anderlecht on 22 September.

• Clinton Mata suffered a hamstring injury in a 1-1 draw at home to Standard Liège on 27 October and has not played since.

• Simon Deli picked up a hamstring injury against Kortrijk on Saturday.