Sporting Braga will hope to return to winning ways when they take on high-flying Boavista in the Primeira Liga at Estadio Municipal de Braga on Sunday evening.
The hosts are currently in eighth place with seven points after the first five matches of the season, while the visitors lead the league standings in the early stages with 13 points.
Match preview
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After finishing in third place in the Primeira Liga last season, Braga have got the 2023-24 campaign off to a mixed start and will be hoping to pull closer to the leading pack in this match.
The hosts come into this match following a midweek loss to Napoli in the Champions League, which followed a disappointing 3-1 defeat by Farense over the previous weekend.
Against Farense, the Archbishops were outplayed from the first whistle and found themselves two goals down before the break and never really looked likely to find their way back into the match despite Simon Banza pulling one back early in the second period.
In contrast to last season, when they had the third-best defensive record in the league, Braga have been leaky at the back this term, already letting in 10 in five league games, which is the worst record of any side in the top half of the league standings.
Despite Boavista's league position, Artur Jorge's side will fancy their chances here as they have a very good record against this opponent, unbeaten in their last six encounters, including three wins and three draws.
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Meanwhile, Boavista proved that their opening-day win over Benfica was no fluke, as they are one of only three sides in the league that are still unbeaten after five matches.
The visitors picked up their fourth league win of the campaign last week when they put Chaves to the sword, banging in four goals at home while their opponents managed only a consolation goal late in the day.
To date, the only points that Petit's side have dropped came in gameweek three when they came back to draw 1-1 at home to Casa Pia thanks to a Pedro Malheiro goal early in the second half.
What has been most impressive about the Panthers' play this season has been their attacking threat, as they are currently the highest-scoring team in the Primeira Liga with 14 goals, while they have only let in six at the other end.
The Chequered ones have taken on all-comers so far, and with a short turnaround from midweek for Braga, the visitors will be licking their lips at the prospect of claiming another big scalp during this purple patch.
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Team News
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Jorge has a full squad at his disposal, although with his side having played in midweek, we may see a few changes to the starting 11 for this one.
Banza has come off the bench to score for the hosts in two of the last three matches and will be hoping for a starting place this week, with Alvaro Djalo the most likely to make way.
Bruma has looked good in the early stages of the season and should retain his place alongside Ricardo Horta, with Abel Ruiz leading the line.
In the opposite dugout, Petit has just one enforced absentee in goalkeeper Cesar, who is suffering from an ACL injury and is expected to miss a large chunk of this season.
Robert Bozenik has been excellent for Boavista this season with five goals in as many games and will almost certainly start this match in attack, with Miguel Reisinho just behind him in the number 10 role.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Lima; Gomez, Fonte, Niakate, Borja; Elmusrati, Carvalho, Bruma, Horta, Banza; Ruiz
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Goncalves; Malheiro, Awaziem, Abascal, Ferreira; Perez, Makouta, Morais, Agra, Reisinho; Bozenik
We say: Braga 2-2 Boavista
While Braga have made a less-than-ideal start to the season, their quality is undeniable, and we expect them to find their rhythm sooner rather than later. However, the visitors are already in top gear this term and look very difficult to beat.
We feel like this match will deliver a few goals but expect that it will finish level at the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
