UEFA Champions League · League Stage - 3 
Lens Head to Bruges Short-Handed as Injury List Grows
Lens travel to Club Brugge with six players ruled out and two more doubtful, a problem that could decide how the Champions League clash unfolds on Wednesday.
📍 Jan Breydel Stadium
Match facts
Recent form
Last 5 league games, latest on the right
Goals per game
| Scored | Conceded | |
|---|---|---|
| Club Brugge KV | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Lens | 1.5 | 2.0 |
League position
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Club Brugge KV | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Lens | 2 | -1 | 3 |
Absences
Club Brugge KV
- OutJ. Ordonez · Foot Injury
Lens
- OutJ. Chavez · Coach's decision
- OutM. Diarra · Off the roster
- OutJ. Gradit · Muscle Injury
- OutI. Jourdren · Off the roster
- OutM. Nawrocki · Knee Injury
- OutA. Sima · Muscle Injury
- DoubtfulR. Aguilar · Injury
- DoubtfulJ. Todibo · Injury
Lens arrive in Bruges on Wednesday with a squad badly weakened by absences, and that may shape this Champions League League Stage clash more than anything on the tactical board. Six players are missing from the matchday picture, while Lens also have two more, R. Aguilar and J. Todibo, listed as doubts through injury. Among the absences are M. Nawrocki, who is sidelined by a knee injury, and J. Gradit and A. Sima, both dealing with muscle problems.
Context and stakes
Both sides have three points from two matches. Club Brugge sit 16th in the 36-team league phase with a goal difference of zero, while Lens are 19th on minus one. Neither side can afford to drift this early, and a result in Bruges would give either team a foothold in a crowded table.
Form that points to a open game
Brugge have won one and lost one, scoring six and conceding six, so their matches have been full of goals. Lens have also won one and lost one, but their attack has been quieter, with three goals scored and four conceded. Lens’s away win came with three goals, and both of their most productive spells came late, with two of their away goals arriving between the 76th and 90th minutes. Brugge have been vulnerable late too, conceding twice in that same window.
Team news
Brugge have their own problem, with J. Ordonez out through a foot injury. For Lens, the bigger concern is depth. J. Chavez is absent by coach’s decision, while M. Diarra and I. Jourdren are off the roster, leaving the visitors with fewer options to change the game from the bench. If Aguilar or Todibo fail to recover, Lens will have to rely heavily on the players who remain.
Our prediction
This looks like a match where Brugge’s home control and goal threat meet a Lens side that has shown it can score late. Lens’s depleted squad will test their defensive shape over 90 minutes, but the visitors have the attacking habit to make the second half interesting. Expect a lively contest with chances at both ends.
Club Brugge KV 2-2 Lens