Club Brugge vs Benfica Champions League round of 16 preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, line-ups

Club Brugge and Benfica meet in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Wednesday 15 February.

Where to watch Club Brugge vs Benfica on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Carl Hoefkens led Club Brugge to the round of 16 for the first time, but it was not enough to keep him in his post, Scott Parker coming in to take command of the Belgian champions during the winter. Ex-Eagle Roman Yaremchuk may be able to offer his new coach some help as they try to strike a decisive blow against a Benfica team who started their first season under Roger Schmidt with a 28-game unbeaten run.

Starting line-ups

Club Brugge: Mignolet; Mata, Hendry, Mechele, Meijer; Odoi, Onyedika; Buchanan, Vanaken, Sowah; Lang
Misses next match if booked: Buchanan, Mignolet, Nielsen

Benfica: Vlachodimos; Bah, António Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Florentino, Chiquinho; Aursnes, João Mário, Rafa Silva; Gonçalo Ramos
Misses next match if booked: Florentino, Gonçalo Ramos, João Mário

Squad changes

Club Brugge
In: Josef Bursik, Jack Hendry, Mats Rits
Out: Éder Balanta, Cyle Larin, Eduard Sobol

Benfica
In: Pedro Santos*, Gonçalo Guedes, João Neves*, Diego Moreira*, Zan Jevsenak*, Samuel Soares, Henrique Pereira*, Cher N'Dour*, Gerson Sousa*, Andreas Schjelderup, Luis Semedo*, Casper Tengstedt
Out: Henrique Araújo, Gil Dias, John Brooks, Diogo Gonçalves, Enzo Fernández, Paulo Bernardo, Helton Leite, Martim Neto, Rodrigo Pinho, João Victor

* List B

Form guide

Club Brugge
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DDWDDD 
Where they stand: 4th in Belgian First League

Benfica
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LWWWWD
Where they stand: 1st in Liga

Expert predictions

Alyssa Saliou, Club Brugge reporter
Despite positive results in Europe, coach Hoefkens was dismissed just before the turn of the year following a disappointing domestic run. His successor Parker has won only one of his seven games in charge and while the players understandably lack confidence, there have been recent signs of direction and improvement. Whether they are ready to give an opponent as strong as Benfica a hard time remains to be seen, but Blauw-Zwart do relish their role as underdogs.

Carlos Machado, Benfica reporter
Benfica will want to build on their excellent group stage as they head to Belgium looking to take the driving seat in this tie. Losing Enzo Fernández in the transfer window was a blow, but the Eagles have a replacement on hand in Chiquinho, while Gonçalo Guedes has returned to the club on loan. They now possess a deeper squad, especially with Rafa Silva and Gonçalo Ramos returning from injury. Benfica remain consistent and look confident, meaning they will have victory on their minds.

What the coaches say

Scott Parker, Club Brugge coach: "We're going up against a very good side in Benfica, who have quality all over the pitch. We need to show ourselves, to be competitive. We need to nullify any threats Benfica pose us. Hopefully we can expose and hurt a good side."

Roger Schmidt, Benfica coach: "We will try to play as we always try to play, with intense, dynamic football against a team with a lot of quality, with very fast and dynamic players. We have worked hard to get to this stage. We got through a very complicated group. We want to be at the highest level and we'll see what we do tomorrow night."

Where is the 2023 Champions League final?

UEFA via Getty Images

Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium will host the final on Saturday 10 June 2023.

The winners gain a place in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.