Aston Villa will meet Club Brugge for just the second time in European competition, with the first meeting between the two sides also coming in the UEFA Champions League this season, a 1-0 league phase win for Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium.            

Aston Villa have faced Belgian opposition five times before in European competition, winning just one of those encounters (D1 L3), a 1-0 victory vs Anderlecht in the European Cup in April 1982.                     

Across European competition, Club Brugge have won just one of their last 16 games against English opposition (D3 L12), conceding 42 goals during that time. The Belgian side's only victory in that time did come against Aston Villa, however, 1-0 in this season's league phase.

This will be Club Brugge's first knockout tie against English opposition in European competition since losing 6-1 on aggregate to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League Last 32 in February 2020. 

Club Brugge won both legs against Atalanta in the play-off round (2-1 at home, 3-1 away), while only once previously have they won three consecutive games in the UEFA Champions League – in September/October 2022 under Carl Hoefkens (3).

Aston Villa will be the fourth different team Unai Emery has managed in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, following Valencia, Paris SG and Villarreal. Only three managers have ever done so in charge of more than four: Carlo Ancelotti (6), José Mourinho (6) and Claudio Ranieri (5).

No team have scored more goals from outside the box than Aston Villa (5) in the UEFA Champions League this season. Of sides to score 10+ goals in a campaign, their percentage scored from outside the box (38% - 5/13) is the highest in a single edition since Villarreal in 2008-09 (38% - 5/13).

Among players remaining in the 2024-25 edition, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League this season (+4.4 – six conceded from 10.4 xG on target faced). Indeed, the Argentinean has only been beaten with six of the 39 shots on target he’s faced in Europe this term (85% save percentage).

Chemsdine Talbi has been directly involved in three goals in his last two UEFA Champions League appearances for Club Brugge (two goals, one assist). No Belgian teenager has ever netted three goals in a single edition of the competition (Talbi on two in 2024-25).

Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans is one of only three midfielders to have made 50+ line-breaking passes while under high-intensity pressure in the UEFA Champions League this season (53), along with Angelo Stiller (58) and Joshua Kimmich (54).