Manchester United vs. Club Brugge 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online

The Champions League playoff stage always has some interesting, if occasionally lopsided, matchups in it, and English giants Manchester United drawing Belgian side Club Brugge is no exception. With Manchester back in Europe after the failures of the David Moyes “era” left them on the outside looking in, they went on an impressive run in the second half of the Premier League season last year to finish fourth, but that left them having to win this qualifying playoff to reach the sought-after group stage.

Now, they might look at this draw, see themselves matched up against a Belgian side, and think “yeah, we got this.” Not so fast. Club Brugge were the upset kings of last year’s Europa League, and while a Champions League playoff match against a huge club like Manchester United is a very different beast from the likes of Besiktas or Torino, they’re going to make life as difficult as they possibly can before this tie is over.

Games like this are exactly why Manchester United bought Schweinsteiger. His incredible experience and knowledge of how must-win European matches have to be played will be invaluable as Manchester approach this tie, and his calm leadership in midfield will be the pivot his team turns on as they attempt to put Club Brugge away and advance into the group stage. Schweinsteiger’s minutes have been managed so that he’ll be as fresh as possible heading into this match, so expect him to play a huge role as the Red Devils return to Europe.

Upset Potential -- Can Club Brugge overcome the odds?

Brugge are unquestionably the minnows in this matchup, but if anyone can figure out how to overturn Manchester United’s advantage in talent, it’s Michel Preud’homme’s team. His team were judged to be the underdogs at nearly every step of their Europa League campaign last season, but they went undefeated until their very last match, when they lost 1-0 in the quarterfinals to eventual finalists Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

No one expected Brugge to get through a group that included Torino and København, but they wound up earning a win and three hard-fought draws against those opponents, then thrashed a strong-looking Besiktas side 5-2 on aggregate in the round of 16. They’ll have to take things to a whole new level against Manchester United, but the English side can’t look past Brugge at all, because any mistakes or lapses in concentration will be punished brutally. The odds are still long, make no mistake, but this will be no easy walkthrough tie for the Red Devils to reach the Champions League group stage.

Club Brugge injuries and suspensions

Out: Thomas Meunier (knee), Lior Refaelov (foot), Felipe Gedoz (hernia), Bernie Ibini-Isei (leg) In doubt: none

Manchester United are in fairly good shape, with a few slight fitness questions, but only Phil Jones is guaranteed to be out. David De Gea, however, is still being kept out of their squad as Louis van Gaal does trust his top goalkeeper while all the rumors of him heading to Real Madrid continue to swirl. Club Brugge aren’t so well off, with two key attackers out in Lior Refaelov and Felipe Gedoz, as well as right back Thomas Meunier. That latter absence might wind up hurting the most, as Brugge need his pace against the faster English team, and his backup, Davy De Fauw, is old and not nearly as quick as he once was.

Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England

TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. - English), Fox Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), BT Sport Europe (U.K.), TSN 4, RDS 2 (Canada), Club RTL, Proximux 11+ (Belgium)

Online: Fox Soccer 2 Go, Fox Sports Go (U.S.), BT Sport (U.K.), TSN (Canada)

Listings via LiveSoccerTV.