Aston Villa heads to Club Brugge for its Champions League opener still winless in the Premier League

There's something curious about the start of this Champions League campaign: the Europa League champion arrives at its opener without a single win in the past few weeks. And it's no easy opponent standing in the way of ending that streak: none other than Club Brugge, on its own turf, on a big Tuesday night in Belgium.

Aston Villa visits Club Brugge this Tuesday, September 8, for matchday one of the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League. The match will be played in Belgium at 1:45 p.m. (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) and 11:45 a.m. (Ecuador, Colombia, Peru), and can be streamed live through the Disney+ Premium plan in South America.

The match carries a special twist: it's one of two games kicking off the first slot of the day, effectively opening the tournament's league phase. For the English side, wearing the tag of reigning Europa League champions, it's the perfect chance to open with a smile and put behind a start to the Premier League season that has been decidedly shaky. On the other side, Brugge, a regular in this competition in recent years, knows the timing is right to strike first and take advantage of its opponent's rough patch.

How Brugge and Aston Villa arrive

Villa has just one point in the Premier League and sits in an uncomfortable spot near the bottom of the table. In its last outing, it drew 0-0 against Hull City, a result that left more questions than answers heading into this European test.

Brugge, on the other hand, comes in on a different kind of momentum. Over the weekend it beat Lommel 1-0, and in the Belgian league it has racked up four wins in five matchdays, a start that positions it among the league's top contenders and gives it an extra dose of confidence ahead of hosting a heavyweight European rival.

The recent history between the two sides

These two clubs' paths already crossed in the 2024/25 season, and rather intensely: they met three times. In the league phase of that edition, Brugge won 1-0 at home. But the rematch came in the round of 16, where Aston Villa took both legs: 3-1 in Belgium and 3-0 in England, results that tilted the series clearly in its favor.

With that recent history in mind, Tuesday's match promises to be much more than a routine matchday one fixture. Brugge will look for payback on its home turf, while Villa needs, above all, to find a win that gives it some breathing room after a season start to forget back in England.