Club Brugge v Benfica: Follow card trend in Belgium

• Brugge most-carded team in group stage

• Vanaken shot figures on the increase

• Back 7/5 Bet Builder for last-16 tie

Scott Parker remains in charge

Much has changed at Club Brugge since they won their first three games in the group stage of the Champions League back in the autumn.

They collected just two more points to finish second to Porto, albeit they did manage to see off Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen in what, at the start of the campaign, would have been regarded as a shock.

Their domestic form has been poor and it's already clear they won't be defending their title having won only 11 of their 25 games so far.

That effort resulted in the departure of coach Carl Hoefkens and the surprise appointment of Scott Parker but the former Bournemouth boss has had little effect thus far.

Brugge come into this game having won one of nine since the post-World Cup restart, although six have been drawn.

Benfica impressed in group stages

Benfica went unbeaten and won a group containing Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Dynamo Kiev, scoring 16 goals in the process.

They are the best team in Portugal right now, having won 17 of 20 in their domestic competition, although they have now sold their leading light, Enzo Fernandez, to Chelsea.

Since their league restarted, they've won five of their seven games, although it's noteworthy that their slip-ups have come against the better sides (losing to Braga and drawing with Sporting).

They also exited the Portuguese Cup the other day, beaten on penalties by Braga.

That's slightly off-putting for those considering backing them to win here at odds-on. While I do think they are worthy favourites, 5/6 seems rather short in a game they don't need to win.

Brugge v Benfica Tipping

So, what of the props markets?

Well, the Belgians topped the cards table in the group stage, picking up 21 yellows and a red in their six matches.

They landed the over 2.5 cards bet five times out of six and with Serie A's top-carding referee, David Massa, in charge of this one, they could well do so again at odds-against.

Massa has also shown at least four cards in 16 of his last 25 UEFA Club appointments.

That said, Benfica were among the lower-fouled teams in the group stage so preference is for the lower line of over 1.5 home cards which provides a bit of a safety net.

In the shots markets, the Benfica players all look short enough - probably due to their team's match odds - but there's angle for the hosts.

Captain Hans Vanaken has played a more attacking role under Parker and that's been reflected in his shots numbers with his last six games producing figures of 4-2-3-1-0-4.

For those worried about the quality of opposition, the first two games of that run came against two of the top three in Belgium.

Brugge will know they need some sort of result here and a packed crowd will try to push them onto a win, as they did against Atletico and Leverkusen.

Vanaken looks worth a go for 2+ shots, producing a Bet Builder which pays 7/5.

Wednesday Cheat Sheet: All the best bets in one place!