Preview: Moreirense vs Braga - prediction, team news, lineups

Braga kick off their 2026-27 Primeira Liga campaign with a trip to fellow Minho side Moreirense, as both teams aim for positive starts to the season in Sunday's clash at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.

The visitors finished fourth in the Portuguese top flight table last season and will aim to disrupt the dominance of the traditional "big three" this time around, while the hosts are looking to improve on last term’s seventh-placed finish.

Match preview

Playing second fiddle to Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica has rarely carried as much consequence for Braga as it did last season, with the Archbishops finishing fourth for a third successive campaign.

Torreense's shock Taca de Portugal final victory over Sporting meant the second-tier side claimed one of Portugal's Europa League places, leaving Carlos Vicens's men to settle for Conference League football.

Not since 2018-19 have the Archbishops failed to feature in the main stage of either of Europe's top two club competitions, though their progress through this season's Conference League qualifiers has gone smoothly so far.

Braga eased past Serbian outfit Zeleznicar Pancevo 5-0 on aggregate in the previous round before recording a 1-0 victory over Dinamo Minsk in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie, courtesy of Ricardo Horta's first-half penalty.

While the Archbishops will be looking to finish the job in next week's return leg in Bulgaria, they will also aim to begin their Primeira Liga campaign with victory and will have every reason to believe they can do so against a side they have beaten in each of their last 13 competitive meetings.

That run includes a 2-1 victory in the first leg before a 1-0 success in the reverse meeting at Parque de Jogos, while Braga also collected 29 points from a possible 51 on the road in the league last term.

Meanwhile, Moreirense's seventh-placed finish last season represented an improvement on the previous campaign's 10th, though supporters will have been left disappointed after a poor second half of the season saw their hopes of securing European football disappear.

The Green and Whites managed just four victories across their final 17 league matches of the 2025-26 campaign (D4 L9), and that inconsistent form continued into pre-season, where they won only one of four friendlies, though that success came last time out in a 2-0 victory over lower-league side Amarante.

Entering his second full season in charge after his appointment in June 2025, Vasco Botelho da Costa will be aiming for another winning start to the campaign, having guided his side to a 2-1 victory over Alverca on the opening weekend of the previous term.

That said, Moreirense collected a respectable 27 points from a possible 51 at home in the league last campaign and will hope that record provides a platform to launch another push for the European places.

Moreirense Primeira Liga form:

Moreirense form (all competitions):

Braga Primeira Liga form:

Braga form (all competitions):

Team News

Despite the sale of last season's top scorer Rodrigo Zalazar for a record fee between two Portuguese clubs, Braga appear to be adapting well to life without the midfielder, with new arrivals Gabriel Silva and Denis Huseinbasic already settling into the side.

Fellow new signing Bernardo Fontes is expected to retain his place between the posts, although Vicens could freshen up his side ahead of next week's second leg, with Diego Rodriguez, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Gabriel Martinez all pushing for recalls.

Braga remain without defender Sikou Niakate, who continues his recovery from the Achilles injury he sustained in April, while Francisco Chissumba is also unavailable after returning from his loan spell at Alverca carrying a leg problem.

As for Moreirense, Dinis Pinto remains sidelined as he continues his recovery from the shoulder injury that has kept him out since early March.

The hosts have made some additions to their squad in the transfer market, bringing in Koby Mottoh and Michael Dacosta from Bournemouth, while midfielder Alanzinho is their most notable departure.

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Ferreira; L Santos, K Monteiro,  Batista, Kiko; Veloso, R Alonso; Landerson, N John, K Bondoso; Parsemain

Braga possible starting lineup:

Bernardo: Lagerbielke, V Carvalho, Arrey-Mbi; V Gomez, Gorby, Moutinho, D Rodrigues, G Martinez; R Horta, P Victor

We say: Moreirense 1-2 Braga

Vicens may have one eye on next week's return leg against Dinamo Minsk, but Braga possess enough quality and depth to manage both competitions, making them favourites to begin their league campaign with all three points.

Further strengthening that belief is the Archbishops' outstanding record in this fixture, and although Moreirense should make things competitive on home soil, we expect the visitors to edge another closely contested encounter.
 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.