Braga and Maccabi Tel Aviv will kick off their Europa League league phase campaigns on Thursday, when they meet in the opening round of fixtures at the Estadio Municipal de Braga.
The hosts sealed their place in the main competition with a playoff-round victory over Rapid Vienna, while their visitors dished out an 8-1 aggregate beating in their tie against Backa Topola.
Match preview
© Imago
Braga return to continental action on Thursday having navigated through three rounds of qualifying to reach the Europa League league phase after a fourth-placed finish in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season.
Os Arcebispos began against Israeli outfit Maccabi Petah Tikva in the second qualifying round and advanced with a 7-0 thrashing over two legs, before seeing off Servette in a closer tie to progress to the playoff round.
Rapid Vienna then stood between them a sixth consecutive place in one of Europe's top two competitions, and the Portuguese outfit again progressed, picking up a 2-1 victory at home thanks to goals from Vitor Carvalho and Rodrigo Zalazar before coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in Austria through Amine El Ouazzani and Ricardo Horta in the final 25 minutes.
Carlos Carvalhal's side now head into Thursday's opener with a degree of momentum, having bounced back from a slow start to their domestic top-flight campaign with a 3-0 triumph away at Nacional on Friday, despite the game being goalless with 15 minutes remaining, as Sikou Niakate opened the scoring before Bruma and El Ouazzani wrapped up the three points.
Having restored some confidence with that result, Braga will now bid to get their continental league campaign up and running with an opening three-point haul on home turf.
Their visitors, meanwhile, booked their place at this stage with two aggregate qualifying victories, having entered in the third round following their Champions League exit and cruised past Panevezys with a 2-1 away win and a 3-0 home triumph.
A tie with Serbian outfit Backa Topala then followed with a league-phase spot on the line, and the Israeli champions progressed in style, producing an 8-1 aggregate triumph as they won 3-0 in Hungary and 5-1 in the reverse fixture in Backa.
Zarko Lazetic's side now return to continental action on the back of a perfect start to their latest top-flight title defence, having won each of their first four league outings while scoring eight goals and only conceding once along the way.
After beginning with victories over Maccabi Petah Tikva, Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Hapoel Jerusalem, the Yellows most recently met Ashdod on Sunday and remained at the top of the table as Dor Turgeman and Nemanja Stojic fired them to a 2-0 win with first-half goals.
Now boasting a run of nine consecutive triumphs across all competitions, Maccabi Tel Aviv will bid to get off the mark at the first time of asking in the league phase and take an impressive scalp in Portugal.
Team News
Carlos Carvalhal should field a similar Braga starting XI to last week's 3-0 victory over Nacional, although defender Bright Arrey-Mbi will return to contention after serving a suspension in that game.
Amine El Ouazzani could come back in and lead the line from the outset, having managed five goals so far this term including their third off the bench last time out and three in Europa League qualifying.
Bruma and Ricardo Horta will continue to play key roles in support of a lone front man, while Rodrigo Zalazar will hope to make a return having netted three goals of his own on the continent so far this season, after missing the Nacional win.
Maccabi Tel Aviv should also line up in a similar way to their recent league victory on Thursday, and Dor Turgeman is bound to again lead the line having netted five goals in eight appearances so far this term, including their opener against Ashdod and three alongside three assists in Europa League qualifying.
Idan Nachmias could continue on the right-hand side of a back four if Sagiv Jehezkel remains sidelined, while Tyrese Asante and Nemanja Stojic will continue their centre-back partnership following Sunday's clean sheet and win.
Veteran Eran Zahavi will hope to come into the attack from the outset after netting 36 goals for the Yellows last season, but he may have to settle for a substitute appearance in a tough away fixture, with Gavriel Kanichowsky lending support to Turgeman through the centre and Hisham Layous and Osher Davida likely to continue on the wings.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Ferreira, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Ribeiro; Carvalho, A Horta; Zalazar, R Horta, Bruma; El Ouazzani
Maccabi Tel Aviv possible starting lineup:
Mashpati; Nachmias, Asante, Stojic, Revivo; Davida, Shahar, Sissokho, Layous; Kanichowsky; Turgeman
We say: Braga 3-1 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv certainly showed their ability in Europa League qualifying and will travel with momentum on the back of a perfect start to their latest domestic campaign, but a trip to Braga may be a step too far for the Yellows, and we expect the Portuguese outfit to come out on top on home turf thanks to the superior quality in their ranks.
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Sam Varley
