Will Braga go ahead again in front of their home crowd?

The last eight quarter-finalists in the Europa League still include many big names that could well have been expected in the knockout phase of the top flight. The only two real exceptions are Braga and Glasgow Rangers. For both clubs, reaching the quarter-finals of Europe’s second most important club competition can be seen as a great success.

For one of the two teams, however, this will not be the end of the line. Ahead of the first leg between Braga and Glasgow Rangers, the odds suggest the bookmakers give the reigning Scottish champions the slightly better chance of progressing. However, a very complicated uphill task awaits Borussia Dortmund’s conquerors in Portugal.

The 2011 Europa League finalists are traditionally regarded as very strong at home and have already defeated a renowned opponent in AS Monaco in the last 16. Because the visitors, coached by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, have struggled to perform consistently well away from home throughout the European Cup season, our first prediction goes in the direction of the Portuguese side in the first leg of the Braga v Glasgow Rangers match.

Braga – Statistics & current form

Sporting Club de Braga have long established themselves as a fourth power behind the two big Lisbon clubs and FC Porto in the land of the 2018 European champions. In the past seven seasons, the Red and Whites have failed to finish in the top four in the Primeira Liga only once. As a result, the players from the north of the country are also permanent guests on the international stage. Coach Carlos Carvahal’s team is currently in the Europa League because they won the Portuguese Cup in the previous season.

So far, Braga have made a lasting impression in the European Cup. In the group stage, three wins were enough to get them into the play-offs, where they eliminated the Champions League-tested FC Sheriff from Tiraspol. In the round of 16, they finally managed to advance against AS Monaco.

Braga build on home strength

In both knockout rounds, it was the home games that secured promotion. Against the Monegasques, the foundation was laid in the first leg with a 2-0 win in front of the home crowd, so that a 1-1 draw was sufficient in the second leg in the Principality. In the clash with the Sheriff, Braga even fought back from a 2-0 first leg deficit to win the second leg 2-0 at home and eventually prevail on penalties.

The bottom line is that Carvahal’s side have immense home strength, which is also based on history. Of the past 18 European Cup matches at home, only two have been lost. Instead, there have been eleven wins and five draws in this period. Last weekend’s dress rehearsal at home against CL quarter-finalists Benfica also went according to plan. The “Arcebispos” won 3:2, consolidating their fourth place in the standings and giving them additional self-confidence for the highlight on Thursday evening.

Given the impressive home strength, which is also reflected in four wins and one draw from five EL home games in 2021/22, and the reasonable form, we are not averse to betting on a home win between Braga and Glasgow Rangers. Coach Carvahal can draw from a wide range of players. Changes compared to the aforementioned home win against Benfica cannot be ruled out, as the coach even spared some key players in the aforementioned duel.

Predicted line-up of Braga:
Matheus; P. Oliveira, Carmo, Tormena; Y. Couto, Musrati, A. Horta, Gomes; Medeiros, R. Horta; V. Oliveira

Last matches played by Braga:

Liga Portugal
04/01 2022 – Braga 3 – 2 Benfica

03/20 2022 – Portimonense 1 – 2 Braga

Europa League Final Stage
03/17 2022 – AS Monaco 1 – 1 Braga

Liga Portugal
03/13 2022 – Braga 0 – 1 Gil Vicente

Europa League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – Braga 2 – 0 AS Monaco

Glasgow Rangers – Statistics & current form

The most successful times of Glasgow Rangers are long in the past. In addition to numerous titles at national level, the “Gers” even won the European Cup Winners’ Cup once in 1972. 2008 was the last time they reached a major final on the international stage, at that time still in the UEFA Cup. Since then, it has been quiet around the Scottish top club, also due to the interim forced relegation.

In the current season, however, Rangers are making up for everything they failed to do in recent seasons. The two wins in the intermediate round against Borussia Dortmund are particularly noteworthy, although BVB made a disastrous impression defensively in the first and second legs and invited the supposed underdogs to score on several occasions.

Are Rangers overrated?

Despite this, the performances shown against the current Bundesliga runners-up are certainly one of the main reasons why lower odds are being offered on the Scots progressing between Braga and Glasgow Rangers. However, we do not agree with this assessment, especially if the first leg on Thursday night confirms the trend that the van Bronckhorst eleven is nowhere near as dangerous away as it is at home.

Of the seven matches they have played in the current Europa League season, only the encounter at Signal-Iduna Park was victorious against unsettled Borussia. They failed to win at Sparta Prague, Olympique Lyon, Brøndby IF, Red Star Belgrade and even in the qualifiers at Alashkert and Malmö. The “Gers” even lost out three times, which definitely encouraged us to check the odds on a home win in the Braga vs Glasgow Rangers clash.

Another aspect to consider is the personnel. Up front, the Dutch coach will have to do without his best attacker Alfredo Morelos, who was injured during the international break and was already absent at the weekend in the defeat at the “Old Firm” against Celtic (1:2). Without the brawny goalscorer, the Premiership runners-up – six points behind Celtic – will lose an important dimension in their game with the ball. The Colombian has been directly involved in 21 goals in his 33 Europa League appearances.

Predicted line-up of Glasgow Rangers:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Bassey; Jack, Kamara; Aribo, Ramsey, Kent; Roofe

Last matches played by Glasgow Rangers:

Premiership
04/03 2022 – Rangers 1 – 2 Celtic Glasgow

03/20 2022 – Dundee FC 1 – 2 Rangers

Europa League Final Stage
03/17 2022 – Red Star Belgrade 2 – 1 Rangers

FA Cup
03/13 2022 – Dundee FC 0 – 3 Rangers

Europa League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – Rangers 3 – 0 Red Star Belgrade

Braga – Glasgow Rangers Direct comparison / H2H record

2019/20 the two clubs have met once before in the Europa League. In the sixteenth-finals, the Scots were able to prevail in both the first and second legs. Rangers became only the second team, after Shakhtyor Donetsk, to beat Braga on the international stage in both first and second legs.

Braga – Glasgow Rangers Tip

On paper, the remaining three quarter-finals in the Europa League certainly feature slightly more notable and probably more highly rated clubs. But that should in no way diminish the excitement between the reigning Portuguese Cup winners and the Scottish champions. On the contrary: In our eyes, it is completely open which of the two clubs will make it to the semifinals.

In the first leg on Thursday evening, we see slight advantages for coach Carlos Carvahal’s team, who have played five home games in the current European Cup season and won four of them (one draw). In fact, the Red and Whites have only suffered two defeats in their last 18 European home games.

On the other hand, Rangers have won only one of their seven international away matches in 2021/22 (in Dortmund). In addition, the “Gers” had two days less regeneration time because they lost the derby against Celtic on Sunday. In addition, the absence of Alfredo Morelos weighs heavily, which is why we see the home side as favourites.