With two rounds of games remaining in the Europa League league phase, Union SG and Braga will battle for three crucial points in Belgium on Thursday.
The hosts currently sit 20th but only lead their visitors outside the playoff spots by a single point.
Match preview
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Union SG return to Europa League action on Thursday in search of a third straight victory, having given their hopes of progressing a major boost before the turn of the year.
After dropping out of Champions League qualifying, the Belgian outfit endured a tough start to the league phase of Europe's secondary competition, drawing two and losing two of their first four attempts.
Sebastien Pocognoli's side would then put their first three-point haul on the board with a 1-0 win away at Twente, thanks to Mohammed Fuseini's early goal, before making it back-to-back triumphs as Franjo Ivanovic fired them to a 2-1 home victory over Nice in December with the decisive goal coming in injury time.
Those results formed part of a 13-game unbeaten streak for Les Unionistes, and after seeing that end in a Belgian Cup defeat to Royal Antwerp in early January, they return on the back of consecutive Belgian Pro League victories, most recently beating Leuven 1-0 on Sunday thanks to Promise David's penalty.
Now sitting in the playoff spots thanks to their upturn in form on the continent, only trailing the seeded places by a single point albeit with the same cushion inside the top 24, Union SG will bid to make it three straight wins to further strengthen their hopes of advancing.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Belgium aiming to leapfrog the hosts and return to the top 24 ahead of the final round of league-phase games.
After battling through three rounds of qualifying to reach the Europa League, Braga made a winning start against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but they were only able to add one more point to their tally in the next three attempts.
Carlos Carvalhal's side were able to bounce back to winning ways on the continent by beating Hoffenheim 3-0 thanks to goals from Bruma, Roger Fernandes and Vitor Carvalho, only to lose by the same scoreline in their last outing away at Roma to slip out of the playoff places.
Os Arcebispos now return to league-phase action on the back of a pleasing start to 2025, having beaten and lost to giants Benfica in the Primeira Liga and Taca da Liga respectively, before booking a Taca de Portugal quarter-final spot by prevailing over Lusitano 1911.
Having then beaten Estrela Amadora 1-0 on Sunday in Portugal's top flight thanks to Amine El Ouazzani's injury-time goal, Braga now turn their focus back to their Europa League bid and will aim to move back into the playoff spots in their penultimate league-phase game with a first away triumph.
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Team News
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Union SG head into Thursday's contest without defender Kevin Mac Allister, midfielder Charles Vanhoutte and winger Anan Khalaili, all of whom are suspended due to accumulations of yellow cards in the league phase.
Top scorer Promise David is ineligible to feature in the Europa League, meaning Franjo Ivanovic will be relied upon to lead the line having netted nine goals this term including two in the Europa League.
He should be joined by Mohammed Fuseini, while Kamiel Van de Perre could take Vanhoutte's place in the midfield alongside Anouar Ait El Hadj and Noah Sadiki in the engine room.
Braga head to Belgium without first-choice goalkeeper Matheus, who is suspended after being sent off in their last Europa League outing against Roma.
In his absence, Lukas Hornicek will come in between the sticks, while Amine El Ouazzani should earn a start up front after scoring their winner off the bench at the weekend.
Danger man Bruma should feature on the wing, having netted a team-high tally of 12 goals this season including three in the Europa League league phase, while veteran Joao Moutinho should return to join Vitor Carvalho at the base of the midfield in a 4-2-3-1 setup.
Union SG possible starting lineup:
Moris; Sykes, Burgess, Leysen; Castro-Montes, Sadiki, Van De Perre, El Hadj, Niang; Fuseini, Ivanovic
Braga possible starting lineup:
Hornicek; Gomez, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Ribeiro; Moutinho, Carvalho; Fernandes, Horta, Bruma; El Ouazzani
We say: Union SG 2-1 Braga
With home advantage and confidence from their back-to-back wins in recent weeks and in the Europa League, we back Union SG to pick up three more crucial points in Thursday's important meeting in Belgium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
