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Arsenal travel to Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they seek to respond following Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the Premier League
Arsenal are set to face a side embroiled in crisis on Wednesday evening when they travel to Club Brugge.
The Belgian outfit have won just one of their opening five Champions League group phase matches to date as they prepare to host the Gunners.
Brugge hammered Monaco 4-1 on home soil back in September before suffering away defeats to Atalanta, Bayern Munich and Sporting CP, respectively.
They did, however, hold Barcelona to a dramatic 3-3 draw in early November and they'll be looking to cause a similar upset when Mikel Arteta's side head to Bruges later this week.
The Jupiler Pro League outfit have at least six first-team injuries to contend with though and additionally, they have lost three of their past four league games.
They were beaten 3-2 at second-place Sint-Truidense on Saturday having also recently lost 1-0 to both Antwerp and Anderlecht.
Brugge are now facing an uphill battle to keep the pace with champions Union Saint-Gilloise, who are currently four points clear at the summit.
The Pro League is believed to be Brugge's priority as they look to rebuild some confidence against Arsenal. They must also win to keep their play-off qualification hopes alive.
Meanwhile, Arteta should be presented with an opportunity to rotate following Arsenal's 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.
His players looked exhausted in the Midlands and given Arsenal are the only team left in the competition to still boast a 100 per cent record, they have earned the right to shuffle their pack.
Left-back Riccardo Calafiori was spotted limping as he left the field at Villa Park last weekend.
The Italian is also suspended for next Saturday's home clash against Wolves after accumulating five yellow cards.
Arteta is also likely to consider handing Declan Rice some rest following his calf injury scare against Brentford last week.
This could be the perfect chance to hand valuable minutes to the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly ahead of the festive fixture schedule.
Meanwhile, Brugge are expected to be without first-choice goalkeeper and ex-Liverpool shot-stopper Simon Mignolet.
Midfielders Ludovit Reis and Lynne Audoor are also likely to be absent alongside centre-back Zaid Romero and striker Romeo Vermant.
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