Aston Villa won the Europa League last season and Unai Emery's men also finished fourth in the 2025/26 Premier League.
That earned them a place in this term's UEFA Champions League and Aston Villa face familiar foes Club Brugge KV in Tuesday's opening fixture.
The clubs met three times in the 2024/25 competition with Club Brugge winning 1-0 at home in the league phase before Aston Villa's 6-1 aggregate victory in the round of 16.
Club Brugge KV v Aston Villa Tips Summary
Best Bet - Draw @ 11/4
Alternative Bet - Nicolo Tresoldi to be first goalscorer @ 6/1
Bet Builder - Club Brugge KV or draw double chance, under 3.5 goals & Matty Cash to be booked @ 7/1
Club Brugge KV v Aston Villa Prediction
Best Bet: Draw @ 11/4
Aston Villa ended last season on a high, beating Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final, but they have made a slow start to the new campaign.
That is understandable given the summer departures of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, centre-back Ezri Konsa, midfielder Youri Tielemans and forwards Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.
This appears to be a good time to play Aston Villa, who lost 4-0 to Brighton and 1-0 to champions Arsenal in their first two Premier League matches before Saturday's 0-0 draw at promoted Hull.
Aston Villa gave Paris Saint-Germain a decent game in last month's UEFA Super Cup, losing 2-1 to the French champions, but the draw looks the best bet when they travel to Club Brugge KV.
A misfiring Aston Villa attack meets a Club Brugge defence who have kept four clean sheets in five games in the Belgian top flight this term.
They have enjoyed some memorable moments in the past two UEFA Champions League seasons, reaching the knockout stages in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Last term, Club Brugge hammered Rangers 9-1 on aggregate in qualifying and their home results included a 4-1 win over Monaco, a 3-0 victory against Marseille and 3-3 draws with FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid.
They sold star winger Christos Tzolis to Arsenal in the summer but Villa had a far more dramatic squad overhaul and a tight contest looks likely.
Alternative Bet: Nicolo Tresoldi to be first goalscorer @ 6/1
Club Brugge have kept striker Nicolo Tresoldi, who was heavily linked with a summer transfer to Barcelona, and he is a tempting bet to score first on Tuesday.
Tresoldi, born in Italy, has scored 12 goals in 24 caps for Germany Under-21s and struck in each of his first three league outings this season.
He finished the 2025/26 campaign with a hat-trick against Gent, taking his tally for the season to 23 goals in 54 appearances.
Tresoldi opened the scoring in UEFA Champions League home fixtures against Monaco and Barcelona so he should pose a major threat to Aston Villa's defence.
Club Brugge KV v Aston Villa Bet Builder Tip
Club Brugge KV or draw double chance
Under 3.5 goals
Matty Cash to be booked
Pays 7/1
Club Brugge KV or draw double chance looks a good Bet Builder selection. They have lost only three of their last 22 European ties at home and Aston Villa are yet to score in this season's Premier League.
Aston Villa's last two results were a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal and a goalless draw at Hull while Club Brugge have conceded only two goals in five league matches. Back under 3.5 goals.
Tough-tackling right-back Matty Cash was booked 12 times for Aston Villa last season, picking up a caution in the Europa League final against Freiburg.
He received his first yellow card of 2026/27 in his side's Premier League opener at Brighton.
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Key Match Stats
Club Brugge KV have won four of their last five matches to nil
Nicolo Tresoldi has scored eight goals in his last nine appearances for Club Brugge
Club Brugge were 1-0 up at half-time in all four of their victories this season
Aston Villa have failed to score in their first three Premier League matches
Aston Villa won 13 of their 15 Europa League games in 2025/26
Three of Aston Villa's four games this term were level at half-time
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
