Fresh off the back of securing their spot in the Europa League, Braga journey to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos to take on Gil Vicente in round four of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
The hosts have failed to win any of the last four meetings between the two sides since, losing three and claiming one draw, and will head into the weekend looking to get one over Os Arcebispos.
Match preview
© Imago
Gil Vicente were denied consecutive Primeira Liga wins as they played out a goalless draw with Estoril Praia when the sides squared off last Sunday.
The Gilistas were guilty of a wasteful display in front of goal as they failed to finish off multiple clear-cut chances at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota before settling for a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Gil Vicente kicked off the season with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Porto on August 10, six days before claiming a 4-2 home victory over newly-promoted AVS courtesy of a hat-trick from Kanya Fujimoto and Jorge Aguirre's 37th-minute strike.
Despite the result at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota, head coach Bruno Pinheiro will be impressed with his side's start to the new campaign as they look to improve on their 12th-placed finish from last term.
Gil Vicente managed just nine Primeira Liga wins last season while losing 16 and claiming nine draws to collect 36 points and finish 12th in the table, just four points above the relegation zone.
© Imago
Braga, on the other hand, turned in a resilient team display in midweek as they fought back from two goals down to salvage a vital 2-2 draw with Rapid Vienna in their Europa League playoff second-leg clash at the Allianz Stadion to book their spot in the Europa League.
Having secured a 2-1 first-leg victory at the Estadio Braga Municipal on August 22, Braga found themselves behind in the tie on Thursday after a first-half own goal from Bright Arrey-Mbi and Isak Jansson's 47th-minute strike put Rapids two goals up, but Amine El Ouazzani and Ricardo Horta scored in a two-minute spell to turn the tie on its head.
Carlos Carvalhal's men now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga, where they have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the campaign, picking up seven points from the first nine available while scoring five goals and conceding twice so far.
Having kicked off the season with a 1-1 draw against Estrela Amadora on August 11, a 40th-minute strike from Roberto Fernandez fired Braga to a 1-0 victory against Boavista at the Estadio do Bessa on August 18, one week before beating Moreirense 3-1 on home turf.
With Thursday's stalemate against Rapid, Os Arcebispos have now gone unbeaten in each of their nine matches across all competitions this season, picking up six wins and three draws while scoring 18 goals and keeping four clean sheets.
Braga will be backing themselves to maintain their impressive start to the season on Sunday as they journey to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, where they are unbeaten in their last six visits, picking up three wins and three draws since losing 1-0 in September 2013.
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
Team News
© Imago
Barring any late fitness issues, Gil Vicente head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Pinheiro the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Having kept their first clean sheet of the season, we expect an unchanged back four of Ze Carlos, Jonathan Buatu-Mananga, Ruben Fernandes and Sandro Cruz, with Fujimoto, Mory Gbane and Maxime Dominguez retaining their roles in midfield.
Former Osasuna man Aguirre, who completed a move to the Gilistas this summer, should spearhead the attack once again alongside 23-year-old Felix Correia and French forward Tidjany Toure.
As for Braga, Carvalhal will be unable to call upon the services of 29-year-old forward Bruma, who has missed the last two matches since coming off injured against Rapid Vienna on August 22.
Rodrigo Zalazar has been on song for Os Arcebispos and the Uruguayan midfielder, who has nine goal involvements across all competitions this season, will be one to keep an eye on.
He should form the midfield trio with Vitor Carvalho and Andre Horta, while Victor Gomez, Bright Arrey-Mbi, Robson Bambu and Adrian Marin should team up at the defensive end of the pitch for the fourth consecutive game.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Ze Carlos, Buatu-Mananga, Fernandes, Cruz; Fujimoto, Gbane, Dominguez; Toure, Aguirre, Correia
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Gomez, Arrey-Mbi, Bambu, Marin; Zalazar, Carvalho, Horta; Martinez, Jaen, Horta
We say: Gil Vicente 1-3 Braga
With the thrill from securing Europa League football still in the air, Braga will head into the weekend in high spirits and they look to maintain their solid early-season form. While we expect Gil Vicente to put up a fight, we are tipping Os Arcebispos to come away with a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
