Does the Portugal curse continue for the Danes?
The second matchday in the Europa League sees the Portuguese-Danish clash between Braga and Midtjylland. The home side started with a 2-1 defeat to Red Star Belgrade, while the Danes recorded a 1-1 draw at home to Ludogorez Rasgrad of Bulgaria. The upcoming Group F clash will further celebrate its premiere.
The Red and Whites have a clean sheet against teams from Denmark so far. In the only duels with a representative from the country in the shape of Brøndby two years ago, two victories were recorded.
Portugal Braga – Statistics & current form
Last year’s fourth-placed team in the domestic Primeira Liga is a regular in the Europa League: for the past six years, with one exception in 2018, Braga have consistently featured in the group stage of the second most important club competition in Europe. As a rule, the footballers from the north of Portugal have always successfully mastered the group stage.
Coach Carlos Carvalhal can also rely on Iuri Medeiros in the attack again, in contrast to the opening match. The 27-year-old had to miss the game against Belgrade due to injury, but now he is back in the squad. The former 1. FC Nürnberg player made a convincing comeback on the penultimate matchday, scoring two goals in a 3:1 win over Tondela.
Defensive line up decimated
The country’s three-time cup winners, however, continue to be without a number of players such as veteran Rolando and Raul Michel Melo da Silva in defence. The absences have also long since had a negative impact: So Braga have been waiting for their next clean sheet for three competitive matches
Given the Arcebispos’ tight defensive personnel situation, the odds on more than 2.5 goals in the match between Braga and Midtjylland are also interesting. In the domestic league, Braga are again in familiar territory.
After seven rounds of matches, fifth place in the Primeira Liga table is occupied by the Braguistas, who recorded a 1-1 draw against CD Santa Clara in last weekend’s dress rehearsal.
Predicted line-up of Braga:
Matheus – Fabiano Silva – Tormena – Oliveira – Leite- Galeno – Al Musrati – Lucas Mineiro – Piazon – Ruiz – Horta
Last matches played in Braga:
Denmark Midtjylland – Statistics & current form
The red-and-blacks had to change their coach last summer, as previous coach Brian Priske opted to coach Antwerp in the Jupiler League. The role at the
Danish runners-up is now held by Bo Henriksen. The 46-year-old has previously only worked for Danish clubs and is thus internationally inexperienced.
The three-time Danish champions were also founded only 22 years ago, which means they have not yet made a major appearance on the European stage either. Participation in the group stage of the Champions or Europa League has only been achieved three times, and the biggest success was reaching the EL sixteen-finals in 2016.
There, however, the Wolves immediately caused a sensation when the first leg was won against none other than Manchester United. However, the euphoria did not last long, because in the second leg the Red Devils won 5:1 at Old Trafford and booked their ticket to the next round.
However, FCM now have Marrony back in the squad after recovering from injury, a player who certainly has international experience. The new signing from Atletico-MG in the Brazilian Serie A also played in the Copa Libertadores – the most important club competition in South America – with his old employer.
Danes arrive in stable condition
The Jutland team can also take heart from their opener against Rasgrad. A win against the Bulgarians was actually possible, as they clearly dominated the game. The performance in the national league is also good: After ten rounds of matches, they occupy first place in the Superliga table and no team concedes fewer goals in the league.
In light of the defensive strength of the visitors, tips on a maximum of one goal by the Arsenalistas in the match between Braga and Midtjylland have additional value
Predicted line-up of Midtjylland:
Olafsson – Dalsgaard – Sviatchenko – Juninho – Andersson – Onyedika – Evander – Paulinho – Sisto – Junior Brumado – Isaksen
Last matches played by Midtjylland:
Braga – Midtjylland Direct comparison / H2H balance
As mentioned at the beginning, Braga and Midtjylland face each other for the first time. The odds for the premiere assign the host Minhotos the role of moderate favourites. This assessment is underpinned by the Danes’ previous record against teams from Portugal.
There have been four such pairings in the visitors’ history, specifically against Sporting and Vitoria de Guimaraes, and they have never scored a win (0-1-3).
Portugal Braga – Midtjylland Denmark Tip
The reigning cup winners from Portugal are in desperate need of points against the Danes, as their opener against Belgrade was a failure due to a defeat. With this in mind, expect an attack-minded home team and an open match. For the clash between Braga and Midtjylland , the tip therefore aims for a goal celebration on both sides
Although the Danes recently lost their strongest striker Anders Dreyer to Rubin Kazan in Russia and last year’s top scorer Sori Kaba left Guinea to join Leuven in the Belgian Jupiler League, the absence of their opponents’ defence means that the rest of the visitors’ attack can be expected to score at least one goal
The tight personnel situation in Braga’s defence has already resulted in no clean sheet for three competitive matches. The hosts again have the slightly stronger squad and home advantage on their side. Given that, they should also strike once despite their opponents’ admittedly strong defence.
