Seeking to make it three wins from three in the Primeira Liga for the first time this season, Braga visit the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques to take on Vitoria de Guimaraes on Saturday.
The hosts will head into the game desperate to get one over the visitors having failed to taste victory in any of the last 11 meetings between the sides since 2017.
Match preview
© Reuters
Vitoria de Guimaraes were sent crashing back down to earth in the Primeira Liga last Sunday when they fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Vizela.
In a thrilling contest at the Estadio do FC Vizela, Raphael Guzzo, Cassiano and Mohamed Aidara scored to cancel out Rochinha's 21st-minute opener and put the hosts in a commanding two-goal lead before substitute Bruno Duarte halved the deficit in the 83rd minute.
Pepa's side have now managed just one win from their last six games — losing three and claiming two draws in that time — with a 3-1 victory over Estoril Praia on January 23 being the only exception.
This poor form has been owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have failed to keep a clean sheet since October's 1-0 win over Oliveira Hospital in the Taca de Portugal.
With 27 points from 20 games, Vitoria de Guimaraes are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga standings, five points off Gil Vicente in the final Conference League qualification spot.
While Vitoria de Guimaraes will be looking to find their feet, next up is the daunting task of going up against an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in any of the last nine meetings between the sides since 2017, losing seven and claiming two draws in that time.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Braga picked up consecutive wins last time out in the Primeira Liga when they saw off Moreirense 2-0 at the Estadio Braga Municipal.
Following a drab first half, the game sparked into life three minutes into the second half when Mutassim Al Musrati opened the scoring before Ricardo Horta made sure of the result from the spot in the 72nd minute.
This followed an impressive 2-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon on January 22 when Wenderson Galeno and Jean-Baptiste Gorby scored second-half goals to cancel out Pedro Goncalves's 24th-minute opener.
Carlos Carvalhal's men head into Saturday's game unbeaten in five of their last six league games, claiming four wins and one draw in that time.
With 38 points from 20 outings, Os Arcebispos are currently fourth on the log, six points adrift of third-placed Benfica and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling and close that gap in the coming weeks.
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Duarte pushed for a starting role after coming off the bench to find the target against Vizela last time out and the Brazilian forward, who has six goal involvements so far, could come in for his sixth start of the season.
He should team up with 26-year-old forward Rochinha, who has been in fine form of late, netting twice in his last two outings. while Alfa Semedo, Andre Almeida and Nicolas Janvier could all start in midfield.
Braga, on the other hand, will take to the pitch without the services of Nuno Sequeira, who picked up a knee injury in November's 6-1 defeat against Benfica.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow countryman David Carmo, who has been out of action since last February through a severe knee injury.
On the back of his side's impressive display in the win against Moreirense last time out, meaning we could see an attacking trio of Abel Ruiz, Iuri Medeiros and Ricardo Horta for the second game running.
Al Musrati opened his account for the season with his strike in the aforementioned game and we expect the 25-year-old midfielder to handle business at the centre of the park.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Trmal; Ferreira, Borevkovic, Mumin, Soares; Almeida, Semendo, Janvier; Duarte, Estupinan, Rochinha
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Tormena, Rodrigues, Leite; Silva, Castro, Moura, Al Musrati; Medeiros, R Horta, Ruiz
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 1-2 Braga
Vitoria de Guimaraes have struggled to get going in recent weeks, claiming just one win in their last six outings. Braga, meanwhile, head into the game in resurgent form, and we expect them to extend their dominance in this fixture and come away with all three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Vitoria de Guimaraes win with a probability of 39.83%. A win for Braga had a probability of 35.41% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Vitoria de Guimaraes win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.26%) and 2-0 (6.19%). The likeliest Braga win was 1-2 (8.09%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.56%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Vitoria de Guimaraes in this match.
