Seeking to pick up a fourth consecutive win for the first time since December 2021, Union SG square off against Braga at the Estadio Braga Municipal in Group D of the Europa League.
The home side head into the midweek clash fresh off the back of suffering their first defeat of the season and will be looking to quickly bounce back to winning ways.
Match preview
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Braga were sent crashing down to earth on Friday as they fell to a humbling 4-1 defeat against Porto at the Estadio do Dragao in Primeira Liga.
In a game where Matheus Lima received his marching orders, Evanilson, Stephen Eustaquio, Pepe and Wanderson Galeno all found the target to hand the league champions their sixth win of the season.
Prior to that, Artur Jorge's side were on an eight-game winning streak and had won nine of their last 10 outings across all competitions — with a 3-3 draw with Sporting Lisbon in August's league opener being the only exception.
Braga now turn their attention to the Europa League, where they kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 victory at Malmo on September 8 before grinding out a slender 1-0 win over Union Berlin one week later to move top of Group D.
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Union SG have also enjoyed an impressive start to the new Europa League campaign as they have picked up two wins from their opening two games to sit level on six points with Thursday's hosts at the top of Group D.
The Belgian outfit got their campaign underway on September 8 when a first-half strike from Senne Lynen helped them secure a 1-0 victory away to Union Berlin, before claiming a thrilling 3-2 home victory over Malmo in their subsequent outing.
Karel Geraerts's men head into the midweek game fresh off the back of last Saturday's 3-0 victory over Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the Pro League, where they are currently fourth in the table with 19 points from 10 games.
Union SG have now won each of their last three games across all competitions, scoring eight goals and conceding three since a 2-1 loss to Genk on September 11, while they are also on a run of four consecutive victories away from home.
While Les Unionistes will be looking to make it four straight wins for the first time since December, next up is a Braga side who are unbeaten at the Estadio Braga Municipal since March, claiming an impressive 12 wins and one draw in 13 matches.
Team News
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Veteran defender Nuno Sequeira is a major doubt for Braga after the 32-year-old was forced off injured midway through the game against Porto at the weekend.
Should he fail to shake off his injury, Alvaro Djalo could come into the starting XI, teaming up with Sikou Niakate, Vitor Tormena and Fabiano Silva in the back four.
With Matheus Lima's red card from the weekend not carrying over into European competition, he should start between the sticks once again, while we expect an attacking duo of Vitinha and Simon Banza.
As far as Union SG are concerned, Geraerts will be unable to call upon the services of German forward Dennis Eckert Ayensa, who is set to sit out his third consecutive game after coming off injured against Malmo on September 15.
He is joined on the club's injury table by 25-year-old defender Koki Machida, who is yet to feature this season after suffering a severe hip injury in May's game against Antwerp.
With his brace of assists against Oud-Heverlee Leuven at the weekend, Teddy Teuma now has 12 goal involvements in 15 games across all competitions this season and the 29-year-old midfielder will be one to keep an eye out for.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Fabiano, Niakate, Tormena, Djalo; Medeiros, R Horta, Al-Musrati, A Horta; Oliveira, Banza
Union SG possible starting lineup:
Moris; Van Der Heyden, Burgess, Kandouss; Francois, Teuma, Lazare, Lapoussin, Lynen; Boniface, Vanzeir
We say: Braga 2-1 Union SG
Braga have been near impenetrable at the Estadio Braga Municipal and will be looking to return to winning ways following their defeat against Porto. While Union SG have proven to be a tough nut to crack so far, we are backing Jorge's side to come away with a slender victory, given the gulf in quality and experience between the two squads.
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Top tip
Joshua Ojele
