Braga begin their 2023-24 Taca da Liga campaign on Wednesday night when they face fellow Primeira Liga side Casa Pia in the second round of Group A at the Estadio Municipal de Braga.
Both teams go into this match on the back of two draws in league play over the weekend - Braga rallied from 2-0 down to earn a point in a 3-3 draw with Gil Vicente, while Casa Pia earned an impressive 1-1 draw away to Benfica.
Match preview
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Braga had an eventful weekend before heading into the Portuguese League Cup on Wednesday - three goals in just 11 minutes overturned a 2-0 deficit against Gil Vicente, but in the end it was only enough for a point as Roan Wilson equalised a minute before the end of normal time.
For Braga, the weekend draw was their second winless game in the past week as they had to deal with the loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier last week, which dampened their confidence a bit ahead of Wednesday's game.
Apart from last week, Artur Jorge's side had been on a five-game winning streak for almost a month before the drop in performance against Real Madrid and Gil Vicente.
That five-game winning run included three successive league triumphs, an impressive comeback to beat Union Berlin 3-2 in the Champions League and a 2-1 win over Rio Ave in the Taca de Portugal.
Last season, Braga won Taca da Liga Group D with nine points and qualified for the quarterfinals, where they were thoroughly dismantled 5-0 by Sporting Lisbon, conceding all five goals in the first half.
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Casa Pia, on the other hand, should be in much better spirits than their opponents despite the fact that they achieved the same result as Braga at the weekend, namely a draw in the league, having held the might of Benfica to a 1-1 stalemate.
That result made it two games unbeaten for Casa Pia including their 2-0 win over CR Rabo Peixe in the third round of the Taca de Portugal, after two league losses to Gil Vicente and Estrela Amadora before that.
Unlike Braga, Filipe Martins's men have already started the Taca da Liga campaign with a 2-1 win over Nacional in their first Group A match, with second-half goals from Felippe Cardoso and Clayton giving them the victory.
Incidentally, last season Casa Pia played in the same group of the Taca da Liga as Braga, finishing five points behind them in second and losing the direct encounter 1-0.
Team News
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Braga will have to do without central defender Sikou Niakate for this match, after he was sent off for a last-man foul in the match against Gil Vicente last weekend.
His place in the back four will most likely be taken by experienced defender Jose Fonte, as the 39-year-old remains an important part of Braga's squad.
Simon Banza and Abel Ruiz will most likely lead Braga's attack, with Banza currently the team's top scorer with seven goals in the league and arguably the biggest threat in the opposition penalty area.
Casa Pia also have some injury concerns ahead of Wednesday's match and will not be at full strength.
The team are currently missing midfield duo Kiki Silva and Rafael Brito, who are both out with a muscle injury and are unlikely to feature in the next few weeks.
The visitors are expected to field the usual 3-4-3 formation, with Yuki Soma, Jaja and Felippe Cardoso forming the front three.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Mendes, Saatci, Fonte, Borja; Al Musrati, Zalazar, Horta, Djalo; Ruiz, Banza
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Varela, Zolotic, Nunes; Lelo, Larrazabal, Neto, Pablo; Jaja, Soma, Cardoso
We say: Braga 2-0 Casa Pia
Even though Braga enter the game after a disappointing last week, the gap between the two teams in terms of quality is still too big.
Braga are clear favourites, and the home fans should further encourage the team to bounce back after last week's poor results.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
