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Braga
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 2
Aug 14, 2021 at 8.30pm UK
Estádio Municipal de Braga
Sporting Lisbon

Braga
1 - 2
Sporting Lisbon

Ruiz (90+2')
Silva (22'), Fransergio (37'), Galeno (69')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Cabral (40'), Goncalves (50')
Coates (57'), Reis (70'), Adan (90+4')
Reis (80')

Preview: Braga vs. Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Braga and Sporting Lisbon, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

In a repeat of July's Supertaca Final, Braga and Sporting Lisbon go toe-to-toe at the Estadio Municipal de Braga on Saturday.

Braga will look to exact revenge on the visitors, who came out victorious in that encounter to clinch their ninth Super Cup title.


Match preview

Sporting's Matheus celebrates scoring their second goal against Braga on January 2, 2021© Reuters

Braga quickly moved on from their Super Cup heartbreak as they claimed a 2-0 victory over Maritimo last time out to get their Primeira Liga campaign off to a flying start.

In an action-packed contest at the Estadio dos Barreiros, second-half goals from Raul Silva and Ricardo Horta were enough to condemn the hosts to a second straight domestic defeat.

Braga, who are yet to taste league success, will look to mount a proper title charge this season and go one step better than their 2010 run, where they finished runners-up to Benfica.

Meanwhile, having ended their two-decade trophy drought in the Primeira Liga last season, defending their crown will be the goal for Sporting Lisbon this year.

After a solid pre-season run which saw them pick up three wins and one draw from four games, Sporting Lisbon claimed their first piece of silverware courtesy of a 2-1 win over Saturday's hosts in the Supertaca final on July 31.

That performance was backed up by another show of class as Ruben Amorim's side cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over newly promoted Vizela last time out.

Portuguese midfielder Pedro Goncalves picked up where he left off last season, scoring twice to put Leoes in the driver's seat before Paulinho wrapped things up in the 74th minute.

Sporting Lisbon will feel confident heading into Saturday's encounter with 30 victories and five draws from their last 52 encounters with the hosts.

Braga Primeira Liga form:
  • W

Braga form (all competitions):
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • W

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:
  • W

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W


Team News

Braga head coach Carlos Carvalhal pictured in December 2020© Reuters

Carlos Carvalhal will be unable to call upon the services of defender Francisco Mora and midfielder Iuri Medeiros, who have both been sidelined with knee injuries.

Twenty-two-year-old defender David Carmo is also on the club's injury table, having sustained a fractured ankle in February's Taca de Portugal clash with Porto.

Having registered five goals in pre-season, Ricardo Horta maintained his fine form in front of goal by adding to the scoreline to double Os Arcebispos' lead last time and the 26-year-old will be one to look out for on Saturday.

Sporting Lisbon will be without young full-back Nuno Mendes, who missed the opening game against Vizela through a leg injury.

Pedro Porro will also sit out the game as he continues to recover from a knee injury which has kept him out of the Leoes' last four outings.

Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Sequeira, Tormena, Pablo, Esgaio; Fransergio, Castro, Al Musrati, Piazon; Horta, Gonzalez

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Feddal, Coates, Inacio; Vinagre, Braganca, Palhinha, Esgaio; Goncalves, Cabral; Paulinho


SM words green background

We say: Braga 1-2 Sporting Lisbon

Braga and Sporting Lisbon face off in what is the first high-profile game of the new season and we expect a thrilling and riveting contest. Sporting Lisbon head into the game in fine form, having picked up two wins from as many games and we predict they will carry on with this momentum and claim a narrow win.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 Braga win with a probability of 37.54%. A win for Sporting Lisbon had a probability of 35.65% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Braga win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.23%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.19%) and 2-0 (6.58%). The likeliest Sporting Lisbon win was 0-1 (9.92%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.74%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Braga vs Sporting Lisbon

Braga
28.2%
Draw
12.8%
Sporting Lisbon
59.0%
39
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sporting Lisbon1010003533230
2Porto109012742327
3Benfica97112461822
4Braga106221771020
5Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes105321210218
6Santa ClaraSanta Clara106041312118
7MoreirenseMoreirense115241514117
8FamalicaoFamalicao10442129316
9Casa Pia10334913-412
10Gil Vicente112451419-510
11BoavistaBoavista10235713-69
12Estoril PraiaEstoril10235816-89
13AVS10235919-109
14Rio AveRio Ave10235820-129
15Nacional9225613-78
16AroucaArouca10217619-137
17Estrela Amadora10136820-126
18SC FarenseFarense10118417-134


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