Braga and Benfica will take to the pitch for the last time this year when they go head to head at the Estadio Braga Municipal in round 14 of the Primeira Liga on Friday.
Roger Schmidt's side, who recently suffered a shock group-stage exit from the Taca da Liga, will be looking to quickly put their disappointing cup run behind and close out the year on a high.
Match preview
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Braga saw their quest for a first League Cup title since the 2019-20 campaign come to an end last Monday when they suffered a 5-0 humbling at the hands of Sporting Lisbon.
Ruben Amorim's side turned in a superb first-half performance at the Estadio Jose Alvalade as Goncalo Inacio, Paulinho, Pedro Goncalves, Francisco Trincao and Marcus Edwards all found the back of the net before the interval to hand the hosts a resounding victory.
Prior to that, Braga were on a five-game winning streak across all competitions, including three successive wins in the Taca da Liga group stages, where they finished top of Group D with a five-point cushion over runners-up Casa Pia.
Artur Jorge's side now turn their sights to the Primeira Liga, where they fought back from behind to claim a 2-1 win at Portimonense in their final outing before the World Cup break on November 13.
Os Arcebispos are currently on a run of three wins from their last four league outings — scoring five goals and keeping two clean sheets in that time — with a 1-0 home loss against Casa Pia on November 6 being the only exception.
Braga have picked up nine wins, one draw and lost three of their 13 matches this season to collect 28 points and sit third in the Primeira Liga table, one point behind second-placed Porto.
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Benfica, on the other hand, were sent crashing out of the Taca da Liga in the group stages after finishing behind first-placed Moreirense in Group C.
Tied on six points after their opening two matches, both sides squared off in the group finale on December 17, when the Moreirense held on for a 1-1 draw to go through after scoring more goals than the seven-time cup winners.
Prior to that, As Aguias suffered their first defeat of the season on December 11, when they were beaten 1-0 by Sevilla in a friendly fixture to end their 33-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
Schmidt will hope his side can quickly arrest their slump and pick up where they dropped off in the Primeira Liga, where they have won all but one of their 13 matches to sit top of the table with 37 points from a possible 39.
Benfica's stellar first half of the season has been owing to the solid job done at both ends of the pitch as they currently boast both the league's best attacking and defensive records, with 37 goals scored and seven conceded respectively.
The record Primeira Liga champions will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways this weekend as they go up against a Braga side against whom they are unbeaten in 15 of the last 20 meetings between the teams, claiming 14 wins and one draw since August 2012.
Team News
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Braga will be without 20-year-old Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gorby, who came off with a first-half injury in the cup game against Pacos de Ferreira on December 11.
Ricardo Horta, who enjoyed a solid campaign with Portugal at the World Cup, has been a standout performer for Jorge's side and we expect the 28-year-old, who has eight goal involvements in the league, to lead the attack once again.
Benfica, on the other hand, head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and will be at full strength following the return of several key players from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
World Cup winners Nicolas Otamendi and Enzo Fernandez, who also picked up the Silver Ball in Qatar following an eye-catching campaign, have returned to the squad and could come into the fray.
With his strike against Moreirense last time out, Goncalo Ramos now has 11 goal involvements in his last 10 matches for club and county and the 21-year-old striker should spearhead As Aguias' attack once again.
Braga possible starting lineup:
Lima; Fabiano, Niakate, Rodrigues, Borja; Medeiros, Castro, Al-Musrati; R Horta, Ruiz, Banza
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Bah, Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Luis, Fernandez; Neres, Silva, Mario; Ramos
We say: Braga 1-3 Benfica
Off the back of their shock cup exit, Benfica will be looking to make an immediate positive reaction by closing out the year with a win. While we expect Braga to put up a fight, As Aguias boasts the firepower needed to get the job done and we are backing them to claim all three points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
