In search of their first Primeira Liga win in nine outings, Vizela square off against Braga when they take a trip to the Estadio Municipal de Braga on Tuesday.
The hosts, meanwhile, head into the game fresh off the back of a Europa League defeat at the hands of Midtjylland and will be seeking to return to winning ways.
Match preview
© Reuters
Braga failed to stamp their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League when they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Midtjylland in Group F last Thursday.
In a breathtaking contest in Denmark, Brazilian midfielder Evander came up trumps for the hosts as he grabbed a 92nd-minute winner seven minutes after Wenderson Galeno netted to make the scores 2-2.
Os Arcebispos now return home where they suffered a humiliating 6-1 loss at the hands of title-chasing Benfica at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in their last outing.
Sandwiched between the two defeats, Braga continued their charge to defend their Taca de Portugal title as they steamrollered Santa Clara 6-0 on November 20 to progress into the fifth round of the cup competition.
With 19 points from 11 games, Carlos Carvalhal's side are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga standings, one point behind Estoril Praia and Portimonense who are tied on 20 points in the Conference League qualification places.
© Reuters
Vizela, on the other hand, returned to winning ways last time out when they saw off Segunda Liga side Estrela 2-0 to seal their place in the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal.
In an end-to-end contest at the Estadio do FC Vizela, Alex Mendez put the hosts ahead inside the opening nine minutes before Kiko Bondoso made sure of the result in the 52nd minute.
Alvaro Pacheco's men now turn their sight to the Primeira Liga where they have failed to taste victory in any of their last three games, losing once and picking up two draws, including a 1-1 draw with Estoril Praia in their most recent outing.
In that encounter, 25-year-old midfielder Samu broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half before Andre Clovis opened his scoping for the season to restore parity 13 minutes later.
A lack of firepower up top has been a major cause of concern for the newly-promoted side, who have now dropped to 15th place in the Primeira Liga table, one point above Moreirense in the relegation playoff spot.
Vizela currently boast the division's third-poorest attacking record, having netted just nine goals in their 11 outings this term — with only bottom-dwellers Santa Clara and Belenenses scoring fewer.
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- L
- D
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Braga have several injury issues to contend with down the spine of the team as the likes of first-choice goalkeeper Matheus and the defensive duo of David Carmo and Vitor Tormena continue their spells on the sidelines.
Thirty-one-year-old Nuno Sequeira is set to miss his third consecutive game after hobbling off the pitch with a knee injury right before half time in the game against Benfica three weeks back.
Libyan midfielder Mutassim Al Musrati is also out of contention for the hosts after picking up an injury in the Taca de Portugal game against Santa Clara last weekend.
Meanwhile, Vizela will take to the pitch without the services of veteran goalkeeper Ivo, who sustained an injury in October's Taca de Portugal win over Vitoria de Setubal.
Other than that, Pacheco has a full house at his disposal and we expect the Portuguese manager to name a similar side from last Saturday's cup victory.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Sa; Tormena, Oliveira, Leite; Fabiano, Castro, Musrati, Galeno; Piazon, Ruiz, Horta
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Charles; Kouao, Aidara, Fernandes, Afonso; Evrard, Claudemir, Guzzo; Moreira, Mendez, Schettine
We say: Braga 2-0 Vizela
Having finished second in the second tier last term, Vizela have struggled to find their footing in the big leagues and risk dropping into the relegation zone. Meanwhile, the hosts have suffered two disappointing defeats in their last three outings and will be looking to get their season back on track and move into the top six places. We are backing Braga to come away with all three points in this one as they boast a significantly superior squad in class and quality.
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 Braga win with a probability of 71.05%. A draw had a probability of 17.5% and a win for Vizela had a probability of 11.46%.
The most likely scoreline for a Braga win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.28%) and 2-1 (9.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.29%), while for a Vizela win it was 0-1 (3.6%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Braga would win this match.
