Braga take on Bundesliga side Freiburg in Northern Portugal on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie.
After finishing inside the top eight of the league phase, Braga advanced straight to the last-16 and knocked out perennial Hungarian champions Ferencvaros 4-2 on aggregate, thanks to a thumping 4-0 home victory in the second leg, setting up a tie with Real Betis.
Carlos Vicens’s hosts looked to be in bother after trailing 3-1 in the second leg of the tie in Seville, but four goals in the space of 36 minutes turned the tie on its head.
However, Os Arcebispos come into this clash off the back of a 2-1 defeat away at Santa Clara in the Primeira Liga at the weekend, meaning they remain in fourth position, but now just five points ahead of fifth-placed Famalicao.
Freiburg also qualified straight through to the last-16 after they finished level on points with Braga inside the top-eight, and defeated Belgian side Genk 5-2 on aggregate largely thanks to a 5-1 win at home in the second leg.
Also like their hosts, Julian Schuster’s charges knocked out La Liga opposition in the previous round, but they were far more convincing, breezing through 6-1 on aggregate against Celta Vigo.
However, the Black Forest outfit were thrashed 4-0 at Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, meaning they are now outside of the European places on goal difference.
How the bookies view it: Braga favourites
Braga are favourites to take an advantage over to Germany next week, with bet365 pricing a home success at 7/5.
Freiburg are 11/5 to leave Portugal with a victory, whilst the draw is 21/10.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this will be the first-ever competitive clash between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Horta too hot to handle?
Ricardo Horta has been in red-hot form for Braga in recent months, scoring 11 goals and providing five assists in all competitions.
That includes a brace at home to Ferencvaros in the last-16 – as well as a goal and an assist in the previous round away at Real Betis – and the Portuguese international is an appealing 11/10 at bet365 to Score or Assist.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Braga will be without the injured Diego Rodrigues, Sikou Niakate, Adrian Leon Barisic and the suspended Gabriel Moscardo, whilst Florian Grillitsch is a doubt.
Freiburg will be missing Max Rosenfelder and Patrick Osterhage due to injury, whilst Jordy Makengo is a doubt.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Carvalho, Lelo, Gorby, Tiknaz, Navarro, Horta, Martinez, Victor
Freiburg: Atubolu, Treu, Ginter, Lienhart, Makengo, Eggestein, Manzambi, Beste, Suzuki, Grifo, Matanovic
Anything else catch the eye?
Braga’s home form has been strong in Europe this campaign, with the Portuguese outfit winning seven and losing just one of their nine continental clashes on home soil (W7-D1-L1).
Carlos Vicens’s hosts have kept clean sheets in six of those victories, and I’m backing them to take an advantage over to Germany next week against a Freiburg side that doesn’t tend to travel well.
Julian Schuster’s men have failed to score in three of their last four Europa League fixtures on the road, and the 7/5 on a Braga win appeals to me here.
GambleAware