Braga take on Fiorentina in the first leg of their Europa Conference League knockout round playoff tie on Thursday.
Braga have dropped down to this competition after finishing third in their Europa League group, while Fiorentina missed out on receiving a bye to the last 16 after being pipped to top spot by Istanbul Basaksehir in Group A.
Match preview
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With their 2-1 win away to Maritimo on Sunday opening up an eight-point gap ahead of Sporting Lisbon in third place in Portugal's top division, Braga have an excellent chance of qualifying for the Champions League group stage for only the third time in their history.
Artur Jorge's side would require a top-two finish in order to do so directly, but even holding onto third spot would see them compete in Europe's elite competition's qualifying stages next season. Having not reached the group stage since the 2012-13 campaign, that would represent a remarkable achievement.
Jorge, who was promoted from his position as Braga 'B' manager last summer after a brief spell in charge of the first team in July 2020, has worked wonders in his first season in charge, retaining a 70% win rate after their most recent victory.
Braguistas have a Taca de Portugal semi-final tie against Nacional to look forward to in April, too, after beating league leaders Benfica on penalties at the quarter-final stage, while on current form, they are undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in the Europa Conference League.
However, the same arguably applies to Fiorentina, so Jorge will be demanding a positive first-leg performance and result against the Italians at Estadio Municipal de Braga on Thursday evening.
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If Fiorentina's recent results are anything to go by, there is every chance they will return to Florence after yet another defeat, having only picked up one point from their last five league games.
Vincenzo Italiano's side have failed to kick on from an impressive seventh-placed finish in Serie A last season, with their 1-0 defeat to their fiercest rivals Juventus on Sunday seeing them remain in 14th spot in the table.
As such, their only realistic hopes of competing in Europe once again next season are via the cup competitions, having beaten Torino 2-1 in the quarter-final of the Coppa Italia to set up a two-legged semi-final tie against Cremonese, who currently sit rock-bottom in Italy's top division.
Moreover, with I Viola's only ever continental triumph coming when beating Rangers in the final of the 1960-61 Cup Winners' Cup, Italiano has a genuine chance of cementing his legacy at the club should he be able to guide them all the way in the Europa Conference League.
With Jose Mourinho and Roma winning the inaugural competition last season, there is no reason as to why Fiorentina cannot follow in their compatriots' footsteps, even if they are likely to require a rise in performance levels against Braga in order to progress to the last 16.
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Braga appear to be in the enviable position of having no injury or suspension concerns to deal with on Thursday, meaning that Jorge can choose what he considers to be his strongest starting XI against Fiorentina.
As such, he may opt to go unchanged from Sunday's 2-1 win away to Maritimo, with club captain Andre Horta continuing in an offensive midfield role behind Simon Banza.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, are expected to travel without Antonio Barak, who missed his side's defeat to Juventus at the weekend with a stomach bug.
Otherwise, though, Italiano appears to have a fully-fit squad to select from, with Luka Jovic likely to be recalled to the starting XI after only appearing from the bench in Turin on Sunday.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Gomez, Oliveira, Niakate, Borja; Castro, Racic; Pizzi, Horta, Djalo; Banza
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Castrovilli; Gonzalez, Jovic, Ikone
We say: Braga 2-1 Fiorentina
There is little doubt that Braga head into this tie in considerably better form than their opponents, who are languishing in the bottom half of Serie A after enduring a poor run of form.
However, we expect Fiorentina to keep things competitive, even if a narrow defeat would make the Portuguese side favourites to progress.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Brett Curtis
