Manchester City vs. Club Brugge Prediction, Odds, and Best Bets for Champions League Week 8

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In a bizarre turn of events in Manchester, Pep Guardiola & Co. is gearing up for a win-or-go-home matchup in the Champions League in January. For the first time in the Guardiola era, Man City is at risk of elimination before the Round of 16. If they fail to defeat the Belgian champions, Club Brugge on Wednesday, Man City will have wrapped up their worst European competition season since 2012-13. 

Manchester City is currently 25th with eight points in seven games in the Champions League and have to get into the top-24 to make it to the play-off stage. Club Brugge, on the other hand, have 11 points and sit in 20th place. A win for City would automatically bring them above Club Brugge and guarantee them a spot in the next round. 

Club Brugge will still have a chance to qualify even if they lose but will need help in the rest of the games. They would ideally play to a draw to clinch themselves a spot. 

The Belgian side has performed above expectations in their Champions League journey this season. They have only allowed eight goals in seven games -three of them coming on the road against Milan in a game they played down a player for the entire second half-. They are a tough team to beat as they haven’t lost since October across all competitions. 

Man City has righted the ship, at least in the Premier League, after an impressive comeback win against Chelsea over the weekend. They have 14 points in their last six PL games which helped them move up to a top-four seed once again. In the Champions League, however, they have one point in their last four games, putting them in serious jeopardy entering the final gameweek. 

Can they save their season by taking care of business at home or will their campaign descent further into chaos and misery?

Manchester City vs. Club Brugge Odds and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Moneyline:

Man City: -650
Draw: +700
Club Brugge: +1500

Total Goals: 

Over 2.5: -290
Under 2.5: +220

Over 3.5: -108
Under 3.5: -112

Both Teams to Score:

Yes: -106
No: -134

Double Chance: 

Draw or Club Brugge: +470

Spread:

Man City -1.5: -220
Club Brugge +1.5: +176

Man City -2.5: +102
Club Brugge +2.5: -138

Manchester City vs. Club Brugge How to Watch

  • Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
  • Time: 03:00 p.m. EST
  • Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
  • How to Watch (TV): Paramount+, CBS Sports

Manchester City vs. Club Brugge Prediction and Pick

Despite looking better in recent weeks than they did earlier in the season, Manchester City’s defensive woes continue. The club signed Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis during the winter transfer window but expecting a 19 and a 20-year-old with no Champions League or Premier League experience to solve their struggles is seriously unrealistic. In fact, Khusanov already made a costly mistake against Chelsea over the weekend and was pulled from the game early in the second half. 

Rodri's absence continues to hurt Man City, and the team seemingly has no desire to sign another holding midfielder mid-season. Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake are still injured, and Guardiola continues to deploy the defensive liability, Matheus Nunes, at right back. In five games in 2025, they have allowed eight goals with only one clean sheet against the bottomfeeders, Ipswich.

At home against a weaker opponent, City will likely continue to deploy a high defensive line and play with increased pressure and intensity. Under Guardiola, Man City has consistently won high-stakes games like this one. They have proven winners like Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva and an elite goal-scorer like Erling Haaland that they can fall back on.

City should be able to put goals on the board and win this one, but the odds make this a tough pick. Instead of picking them to win by two or three goals to get better value, betting against their weak defense may be the smart choice. It's hard to see them shutting out any solid opponent with the way their defense is constructed right now, so Both Teams to Score at -106 is the best value pick in this matchup.

Pick: Both Teams to Score (-106)


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Published
Cem Yolbulan
CEM YOLBULAN

Cem is a contributor to Sports Illustarted's betting coverage with a focus on soccer. He is a full-time Associate Editor for Fansided’s Regional Betting Network sites, producing betting-focused content on the NBA and the NFL. He previously covered the NBA for various Fansided sites before joining the RBN team. Despite covering a wide range of sports, Cem's main interest remains soccer, specifically, the Premier League and the Champions League. Originally from Istanbul, Türkiye, he is a big Fenerbahçe fan. On any given day, he can be found watching soccer or basketball on his couch with his many cats and dogs.