Celtic vs Club Brugge facts

Celtic will once again look to their home form to bolster their UEFA Champions League hopes as Club Brugge come to Glasgow on Matchday 5.

The Scottish champions have scored eight goals in winning their first two home league phase matches, against Slovan Bratislava (5-1) and, on Matchday 4, Leipzig (3-1), picking up a further point from away games at Borussia Dortmund (1-7) and Atalanta (0-0).

Club Brugge have six points thanks to 1-0 wins at Sturm Graz and, in their most recent fixture, at home to Aston Villa; they have also lost 0-3 at home to Dortmund and 3-1 at AC Milan.

This is the teams' first fixture and only the third time Club Brugge have faced a Scottish club.

Form guide

Celtic

Record vs Belgium clubs: W4 D1 L3 F12 A5
Home record vs Belgium clubs: W3 D0 L1

Celtic last faced a Belgian side in the 2017/18 group stage, winning 3-0 at Anderlecht before a 1-0 home defeat.

The Bhoys had won their previous three home games against Belgian visitors, scoring eight goals and conceding only one.

Celtic are in the Champions League proper for the 13th time, two more than local rivals Rangers, and the third season in a row.

The Hoops were bottom of their section for the second season running – and the fourth time in their last five campaigns – in 2023/24, although they ended with a 2-1 home win against Feyenoord – their first Champions League victory at Celtic Park since 2013.

That ended Celtic's run of 12 home group games without a win (D3 L9), since beating Ajax 2-1 on Matchday 4 in 2013/14. This season's Matchday 1 defeat of Slovan made it successive home victories; Matchday 4's win against Leipzig made it three in a row for the first time since 2007.

Home and away, Celtic have won only five of their last 36 games in the Champions League proper (D7 L24) – but three of the last five.

The first British club to win the European Cup in 1967, and runners-up to Feyenoord three years later, Celtic have reached the knockout stages three times. All those campaigns ended in the round of 16, most recently in 2012/13 against Juventus (0-3 h, 0-2 a).

Celtic claimed their 54th Scottish League title, and a 12th in 13 seasons, in 2023/24, Brendan Rodgers' side also winning the Scottish Cup, the Hoops' record 42nd victory.

Club Brugge

Record vs Scottish clubs: W0 D1 L1 F2 A3
Away record vs Scottish clubs: W0 D0 L1

Club Brugge's only previous games against a Scottish club came in the inaugural Champions League group stage in 1992/93, when they drew 1-1 at home to Rangers before a 2-1 loss in Glasgow.

This is Club Brugge's 11th campaign in the Champions League proper – one short of Anderlecht's Belgian record.

The most recent came in 2022/23, the Belgian side claiming 11 points to finish second in Group B behind Porto and reach the knockout stages for the first time. Benfica proved too strong in the round of 16, however, winning 2-0 in Bruges and 5-1 in Lisbon.

Club Brugge have lost only six of their last 17 away matches in the Champions League proper (W5 D6).

European Cup runners-up to Liverpool in 1978, Club Brugge spent 2023/24 in the Europa Conference League, eventually reaching the last four before losing to Fiorentina.

Club Brugge have won seven of their last 11 away European games (L4).

Champions of Belgium for the 19th time in 2023/24 – their fourth title in five years – Club Brugge appointed Nicky Hayen as their permanent head coach in June. He had succeeded Ronny Deila, who was Celtic manager from 2014 to 2016, on a temporary basis in March.

Links and trivia

Arne Engels joined Club Brugge’s youth set-up in 2014, aged 11. He was part of the club's reserve side, Club NXT, between 2020 and January 2023, scoring three goals in 35 appearances.

Kasper Schmeichel played in 31 league games for Anderlecht in 2023/24.

Brendan Rodgers was Simon Mignolet's manager at Liverpool between 2013 and 2015.

International team-mates:
Arne Engels & Maxim De Cuyper, Joaquin Seys, Jorne Spileers (Belgium)
Kasper Schmeichel & Andreas Skov Olsen (Denmark)

Latest news

Celtic

Celtic went three points clear in the Scottish Premiership with a 4-1 victory at Hearts on Saturday, substitute Adam Idah scoring twice after Nicolas Kühn had made it five goals in four games in all competitions following Kyogo Furuhashi's opener.

The Hoops have won their last six games in all competitions, scoring 20 goals and conceding only two.

Celtic have won 11 of their 12 league games this season, the exception a 2-2 draw at home against Aberdeen on 19 October in a game they had led 2-0.

The Glasgow club have conceded only two goals in their last seven games in all competitions and have kept 13 clean sheets in 22 matches stretching back to last season.

Daizen Maeda scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 defeat of Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup semi-final on 2 November; Celtic will play Rangers in the final on 15 December.

The Matchday 2 defeat at Dortmund is Celtic's only reverse in 27 games in all competitions (W22 D4), since a 2-0 defeat at Hearts on 3 March.

On 15 November substitute Luis Palma scored twice as Honduras beat Mexico 2-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final first leg; he started the 4-0 second-leg defeat four days later.

Liam Scales was sent off in the Republic of Ireland's 5-0 UEFA Nations League loss in England on 17 November.

On Friday Alistair Johnston signed a new contract until 2029, James Forrest agreeing a deal until 2026 the following day.

Club Brugge

Christos Tzolis scored four times as Club Brugge were 7-0 home winners against Sint-Truiden on Saturday, Raphael Onyedika and Ardon Jashari getting their first league goals of the season.

A 2-2 draw at Beerschot on 10 November – a game in which they took an early two-goal lead – ended Club Brugge's four-match winning streak in all competitions.

The Matchday 3 defeat at Milan is Club Brugge's only loss in 11 games in all competitions (W7 D3).

Nicky Hayen's side lost two of their first three league games this season (D1) but have suffered only one defeat in the last 12 (W8 D3).

Tzolis scored in Greece's 2-0 win in Finland on 17 November.

Bjorn Meijer was replaced early in Belgium's Under-21 friendly against England with a quadriceps injury that is expected to sideline him for several weeks.

Gustaf Nilsson was out with a calf injury between 27 September and 30 October, scoring five minutes after coming on in his return in a 6-1 victory against third division Belisia Bilzen in the last 32 of the Belgian Cup, but has not played since due to an Achilles injury.

Hugo Siquet missed Saturday's win due to illness.