Braga will be looking to bounce back from last week's loss at Benfica when they play host to Casa Pia at the Estadio Braga Municipal in round 32 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Having failed to win any of the last four meetings between the sides since November 2022, Os Gansos will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts as they push for a top-half finish.
Match preview
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Braga failed to move into the Europa League qualification spot last Saturday as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Benfica when the sides squared off at the Estadio da Luz.
In a game where Victor Gomez received his marching orders, a second-half brace from Marcos Leonardo and David Neres's 85th-minute strike helped As Aguias cancel out Ricardo Hortta's 28th-minute opener and turn the game on its head.
Prior to that, Braga were on a run of two consecutive victories, seeing off Estoril Praia and Vizela respectively, and were unbeaten in five consecutive away matches across all competitions, claiming four wins and one draw since late February.
With just three games to go, Artur Jorge's men find themselves in a heated three-horse race with Porto and Vitoria de Guimaraes for a place in Europe and must now avoid any further slip-ups.
Braga have picked up 62 points from 31 matches to sit in the Europa Conference League qualification spot, one point behind third-placed Porto and two points above Guimaraes just outside the European qualifying places.
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Elsewhere, Casa Pia took another step forward in their push for a top-half finish as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over Chaves at the Estadio Pina Manique last Saturday.
Chaves midfielder Kelechi Nwakali netted five minutes after the hour-mark to cancel out Duplexe Tchamba's first-half opener, but Yuki Soma and Andre Lacximicant found the back of the net to hand the hosts all three points.
Casa Pia have now gone unbeaten in all but one of their most recent five matches — picking up two wins and two draws — with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Porto on April 21 being the exception.
Goncalo dos Santos's men have picked up nine wins from their 31 Primeira Liga matches while losing 14 and claiming eight draws to collect 35 points and sit ninth in the league table, one point above 10th-placed Farense.
Next up for Casa Pia is the challenge of a Braga side whom they have failed to get the better of in each of their last four encounters, losing three and claiming one draw since a 1-0 victory in November 2022.
Team News
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Braga will have to cope without the services of full-back Gomez, who is currently suspended after picking up a late red card against Benfica last weekend.
In his absence, 21-year-old Joe Mendes should come into the fold, teaming up with Paulo Oliveira, Sikou Niakate and Cristian Borja at the defensive end of the pitch.
Experienced forward Rony Lopes could come in for Athletic Bilbao loanee Alvaro Djalo, who is a doubt after coming off injured midway through the game against Benfica last weekend.
Meanwhile, Casa Pia remain without the services of midfielder Rafael Brito, who has been sidelined since suffering a muscle injury versus Gil Vicente on March 3.
Other than that, Os Gansos head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Dos Santos the luxury of a relatively full squad at his disposal.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Lima; Mendes, Oliveira, Niakate, Borja; Moutinho, Zalazar; Lopes, R Horta, Ndour; Banza
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Varela, Tchamba, Zolotic; Larrazabal, Neto, Segovia, Lelo; Soma, Cardoso, Moreira
We say: Braga 2-0 Casa Pia
Braga know that they need to avoid any slip-ups in their final three games of the season as they look to secure a spot in Europe. Given the stakes of Sunday's game, we anticipate Jorge's side will go all out and secure maximum points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
