Sturm Graz vs Club Brugge prediction 02.10.2024 | Champions League

• Competition: Champions League
• Date: Wednesday, 2nd October, 2024
• Kickoff: 20:00 UK / 21:00 CEST
• Venue: Merkur-Arena (Graz)

Last year, Sturm Graz finally stopped Salzburg's ten-year dominance in Austria by winning their fourth-ever Bundesliga title and the first one since the 2010/11 season. By securing the title, they got the opportunity to play in the Champions League (Group/League phase) for the first time since the 2011/12 season. Unfortunately, they started the competition with a 2:1 loss against Brest - a team that secured their first-ever appearance in the CL. Now, the Austrians have to win points at home in order to have some chance of reaching the second phase of the competition. Meanwhile, they had a good start in the Bundesliga, but after an initial good start, they only won once in the last three games, and there are reasons for concern. Although they hold the top spot with 16 points in eight rounds, Salzburg have three points fewer and have played two games less.

Club Brugge are one of the biggest clubs in Belgium and one of the teams that constantly plays in the Group Phase of European competitions. Last year, they managed to win the Jupiler Pro League title and had a decent run in the Conference League, where they reached the Semi-Finals but lost to Fiorentina in a super close duel (4:3 on aggregate). Like Sturm Graz, Club Brugge are also looking for their first points in the Champions League in this game as they lost 3:0 to Borussia Dortmund in the first round. In the domestic league, "The Blue-Black" have been pretty poor, winning just 14 points in nine rounds. Right now, they are 3rd but already eight points away from the league's leader, Genk.

Sturm Graz vs Club Brugge pick: Over 2.5 goals

Sturm Graz have been absolutely great for this type of bet in recent games, as they were over 2.5 goals in the last seven matches. At home, they have been excellent, winning three of four games so far while scoring eight goals - two per game. So, we believe they can score a couple against Club Brugge.

Club Brugge have also played mostly high-scoring games and were over 2.5 goals in five out of six games. Even though they scored just three goals in the last three games, they are creating goalscoring chances, and we believe they will soon start scoring more regularly. Sturm Graz should be a perfect opponent for that because they haven't had a clean sheet in the last seven games! On the other hand, we do not believe in Club Brugge's defense after allowing eight goals during the previous three games - 2.7 per game.

Considering both teams' constant high-scoring games and the fact they were far from impressive defensively this season, we expect an exciting, high-scoring game, most likely with both teams scoring.