Europa League – Braga vs Rangers
Quarter-final first leg
Prediction
Firstly, both teams will head into the fixture off the back of crucial league games. The hosts registered a huge win against Benfica. While their opponents suffered a highly demoralising loss to arch-rivals Celtic. Furthermore, given Rangers’ poor away record in this game, do not expect them to win this leg.
Braga’s previous seven Europa League fixtures have involved at least two goals and a similar trend is observed in Rangers’ previous eight UEL fixtures. Therefore, I have backed ‘over 2 goals’ for this fixture.
Europa League – Braga vs Rangers: Betting odds
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Full-time result: Braga @ 2.43 odds.
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Over 2 goals @ 1.61 ods.
Predicted lineups
Braga: Matheus; Paulo Oliveira, David Carmo, Vítor Tormena; Fabiano, Al Musrati, André Horta, Rodrigo Gomes; Iuri Medeiros, Ricardo Horta; Vitinha
Misses next game if booked (On 2 yellow cards): Al Musrati, André Castro, Francisco Moura
Rangers: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Bassey; Jack, Lundstram; Aribo, Ramsey, Kent; Roofe
Misses next game if booked (On 2 yellow cards): Aribo, Lundstram, Morelos, Sakala
Pre-match conference
Carlos Carvalhal, Braga coach: “We don’t have a huge squad. We have a lot of young players who are not used to playing two games a week for a long time. That’s how young players get better, though. This [international] break will help us to recover our energy. In the league, we have not done as well as we would have liked, but we have progressed a lot in the Europa League. We are on the right path.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Rangers coach: “It is not often you play a quarter-final in Europe, it is a big opportunity to reach the semi-finals. We have to work hard and put in top performances. Braga are a very good team, they won against Benfica on Friday and we look forward to a tough challenge.”
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