The likely return of Boubacar Kamara is a big boost to Villa's chances, but the team is still heavily depleted, particularly in defence.
Villa also struggle away from home, where Villa have lost seven of their last ten games, winning just two. Brugge, conversely, have lost just one of their last 17 at home.
With Villa having already lost to Brugge this season, they could be in line for a second defeat here in very tough circumstances. Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa.
Aston Villa have a huge chance to reach the Champions League quarterfinals as they take on Club Brugge in the last 16.
Club Brugge are one of the surprise entrants in the last 16 of this year's competition. The Belgian club qualified for the playoff round by the skin of their teeth, finishing 24th in the group phase on goal difference only. They then faced off against Italian side Atalanta in the playoff round, entering the tie as firm underdogs, but they shocked the continent with a fine result, winning 5-2 on aggregate.
Without disrespecting Aston Villa, Brugge will now be very pleased at having drawn the Premier League side, who they have already beaten in the group stage. They'll also feel as though they've already knocked out a superior team in Atalanta over two legs, so they now have a very big chance to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Brugge have a number of tidy players, with veteran midfielder Hans Vanaken still a big feature of the side, while Greek winger Christos Tzolis is a real handful. One of the crown jewels of the team is Maxim De Cuyper at left-back, who is likely to be the subject of a transfer attempt by one of Europe's giants in the near future.
All in all, Brugge will be extremely confident about their chances in this tie, but they likely have to take a first leg lead from this one if they want to progress.
Aston Villa's season has been a very mixed bag. Unai Emery's side have been very up and down in the Premier League and look likely to fall short of a top five finish this season, meaning they'd need to win this competition to get back into it next season. That's very unlikely, but nevertheless, they've been very impressive in the Champions League on the whole, securing a top eight finish in the group stage which saw them qualify for the last 16 automatically.
Villa's problem right now is injuries, particularly in defence, where centre-back Pau Torres has been injured for a number of months while others have been in and out of the team. Villa are also short in midfield, where Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara and Ross Barkley have all been injured of late, meaning there is very little depth in that area.
With Villa still in the FA Cup, their first-choice players are playing a huge number of minutes, which could be leading to fatigue within the squad. Despite the injection of new players in January, Villa are not coming into this game in great shape, and their preparation has likely been much worse than that of their opponents.
With Unai Emery's side having already lost to Club Brugge in the group stage, they'll be well aware of how tough this game will be. They'll need the likes of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio to step up to the plate here, or they could have it all to do in Birmingham in a couple of weeks' time.
This game will be televised to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 1.
Club Brugge Team News:
Bjorn Meier will miss out through injury, while Raphael Onyedika is a major doubt after missing the game at the weekend.
Brugge, though, are otherwise in good shape and will field a very strong lineup here.
Predicted lineup: Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Vetlesen; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla.
Aston Villa Team News:
Andrés García and Donyell Malen are both ineligible after Unai Emery could only make three alterations to his Champions League squad following the group phase.
On top of that, Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, Pau Torres, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are all likely to miss out here.
Predicted lineup: Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Bogarde, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Asensio, Rogers; Watkins.
Club Brugge:
Club Brugge's form is mixed, with the Belgians winning two, drawing two and losing one of their last five games. At the weekend, a goal from Ferran Jutglà helped Brugge to a point away at Gent in a 1-1 draw, a result that followed a 1-2 defeat to Standard Liège.
Before that, the Belgians claimed a huge 3-1 win away at Atalanta, with the goals coming from Chemsdine Talbi (X2) and Ferran Jutglà, a result that followed a 2-2 draw away at Sint-Truiden, where Hans Vanaken and Christos Tzolis scored the goals, and a 2-1 win over Atalanta, with Ferran Jutglà and Gustaf Nilsson scoring the goals.
Aston Villa:
Aston Villa enter this game amidst a mixed run of form, with two wins, two draws and one loss from their last five games. Last time out, a Marco Asensio brace saw Villa beat Cardiff City 2-0 in the FA Cup, a result that was preceded by a 4-1 hammering away at Crystal Palace and a 2-1 win against Chelsea, where Asensio once again scored a brace.
Prior to that, goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins saw Villa draw 2-2 at home to Liverpool, a result that was preceded by a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town, where Watkins grabbed the goal.
