Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Europa League 2020-21
Dynamo Kiev host Club Brugge at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League clash in the round of 32.
The reigning Ukrainian champions have once again transferred from the Champions League after finishing behind heavyweights Juventus and Barcelona.
They finished third in Group G ahead of Ferencvaros, beating the Hungarian side 1-0 at home, and salvaged a place in this competition.
Bilo-Syn was eliminated in the group stages last year. However, having secured a direct passage into the knock-out rounds this season, they'll be aiming to progress into the last 16 for the second time in three years.
Standing in their way are their Belgian counterparts, who have dropped into the competition from the Champions League for the third consecutive year.
They have been driven out at this stage in the last two years by Red Bull Salzburg and Manchester United. In fact, they haven't progressed beyond this stage since the 2014-15 season when they reached the quarter-finals.
Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge Head-To-Head
The only previous meeting between the sides came in the qualifying phase of last season's Champions League. In that tie, Club Brugge progressed into the competition's group stage following a 4-3 triumph over the two legs.
That included a thrilling 3-3 draw in Kiev, with one goal by each side coming deep in stoppage time.
Dynamo Kiev Form Guide (all competitions): L-W-W-D-W
Club Brugge Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge Team News
Dynamo Kiev
The home side will be without Mykyta Burda, Volodymyr Kostevych, Tudor Baluta and Ilya Zabarnyi, all of whom are injured.
Injured: Mykyta Burda, Volodymyr Kostevych, Tudor Baluta and Ilya Zabarnyi
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Club Brugge
Cisse Sandra is the only long-term absentee for the Belgians as the midfielder has been sidelined with a muscle injury since November.
Injured: Cisse Sandra
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge Predicted XI
Dynamo Kiev (4-2-3-1): Georgiy Bushchan; Oleksandr Karavaev, Tomasz Kedziora, Denys Popov, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Sergiy Sydorchuk, Mykola Shaparenko; Viktor Tsygankov, Vitaliy Buyalskyi, Carlos De Pena; Artem Besedin.
Club Brugge (4-3-2-1): Simon Mignolet; Clinton Mata, Odilon Kossounou, Brandon Mechele, Stefano Denswil; Ruud Vormer, Mats Rits, Hans Vanaken; Noa Lang, Bas Dost, Charles De Ketelaere.
Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge Prediction
Kiev have played just one official game in the last two months but playing at home will give them an advantage.
We expect Dynamo Kiev to hold Brugge to a draw.
Prediction: Dynamo Kiev 1-1 Club Brugge