Brugge – Atletico Madrid

The Belgian club will not yield to the favorite on its home arena.

For the second season in a row, Brugge has qualified for the Champions League playoff round. As in the last edition of the elite European tournament, the Belgian side surged into the Round of 16 as a result of the final round of the group stage. If we continue drawing parallels with the 2024/2025 season, this could greatly upset Atlético Madrid fans. The crux of the matter is that in the qualifying round of last year's playoff Brugge simply outplayed Atalanta, beating them twice: 3-1 and 2-1. Moreover, neither Diego Simeone nor the average fans of the Madrid club can exude maximum confidence in their players right now. The Mattress Makers have been too inconsistent. In recent weeks, Atletico Madrid has swung from hot to cold. A home defeat to Bodø/Glimt and the subsequent draw with the weak Levante were followed by an away rout of the solid Betis 5-0, and a home defeat to the same Sevillians in La Liga gradually turned into a sensational 4-0 drubbing of Barcelona. It is unknown which of the two versions of Atletico Madrid will come to the Jan Breydel Stadium, but there is an understanding that the players of the Belgian runner-up will be ready. Bookmakers have made the guests the favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.91 on their victory. Brugge closed the group stage of the Champions League with a confident 3-0 win at home over Marseille. Moreover, the Provençal side were direct rivals to the Belgian club, but they could not contain their opponent. After that match, Brugge played three times in the national championship with mixed results. The team was clearly gearing up for the upcoming meeting with Atletico Madrid. In the previous seven days, the Spanish club played tough matches against Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano. In their league, Diego Simeone's team sits third with little risk of dropping out of the Champions League zone and catching up with Barcelona or Real Madrid. In the previous Champions League campaign, the Mattress Makers avoided the qualifying round but were eliminated at the first stage of the main draw. Let's bet that the match in Brugge won't be easy for the visitors.