Azerbaijani side, Qarabag, travel to Portugal to face Braga in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League preliminary knockout playoff to reach the Round of 16.
The end of Braga’s UEFA Champions League campaign has seen them drop down to the second-tier competition of European club football where they will take on Qarabag who finished runners-up in their own Europa League group.
The Portuguese side secured only four points from a group featuring Real Madrid and Napoli, yet they finished above Union Berlin. They will be keen on a memorable adventure in this competition and it is pertinent that they get off to a good start against Qarabag in front of their fans.
Braga had to go through two qualifying rounds to reach the UCL group stage and they began their Primeira Liga campaign with two wins and as many defeats in the first five matches.
The Archbishops also lost their UCL opener to Napoli courtesy of Sikou Niakate’s late own goal, but they won all of the next five games including a 3-2 victory at Union Berlin thanks to Andre Castro’s 94th minute winner.
Braga lost the double-header against Real Madrid but stayed unbeaten domestically and also drew at home to Union. Consecutive 3-1 victories over Estoril Praia and Vizela were not enough to inspire them against Napoli who beat Braga 2-0 on Matchday 6 of the UCL group stage
Since then, Artur Jorge’s side lost further ground in the league with defeats to Benfica and Porto as they lie 10 points behind the league leaders in fourth position.
Braga must keep a winning momentum if they’re to resume continental duties with victory over Qarabag who will be well-motivated against the hosts.
It is pertinent that they excel on the continent and a deep run in this competition would help Braga step out of the shadows of the traditional ‘Big Three’ in Portugal. They must be focused on going all the way much like they did by reaching the final against Porto in 2010-11.
Qarabag, on the other hand, possesses lots of European pedigree having played more UEFA matches than any other Azerbaijani team. The Horsemen secured 10 points from Group H behind Bayer Leverkusen and they enter the knockout stage of the Europa League for the first time.
Hence, the Azerbaijan Premier League champions are looking forward to the first leg where they would be keen on a fairytale result. Gurban Gurbanov’s side went through a gruelling qualification campaign to end up in the Europa League group stage while they lost the opening league fixture of 2023-24 1-0 against Zira.
Qarabag went unbeaten in four of the next five league matches and started their group-stage campaign with a 1-0 victory over Molde. That had a galvanizing effect with a five-match unbeaten run which ended with a 5-1 thrashing at Leverkusen.
They failed to beat the Germans over two legs but ended the group stage with four points from the final two games to ensure they finished three points above Molde. Qarabag will now be looking to kick on for a memorable second half of their Europa League adventure.
Thankfully, they can call on the know-how of the most successful Azerbaijani manager in European competitions and hope to write their own story this season. Qarabag are 12 points clear on top of their domestic league so there is no shortage of motivation for a European quest.
They are firm underdogs who must rise to the occasion on the night.
Match tickets
The Estádio Municipal de Braga hosts the first leg of this game which takes place on Thursday, February 15 2024 with kick-off set for 8 PM UK time. Match tickets can be purchased on each club’s website as well as through UEFA’s allocation.
A capacity crowd of over 30,000 is expected at the stadium so tickets are highly sought after for this spectacle against the backdrop of the Monte do Castro quarry. Unfortunately, the tickets on official channels are expected to be already sold out so fans may find it difficult to acquire match tickets.
Our advice especially for traveling supporters is to search for their Braga vs Qarabag tickets on a ticket resale website.
Team news
Simon Banza and Sikou Niakate are on national team duty but they should be available for Braga ahead of this fixture. Elsewhere, there is a clean bill of health which they would be desperate to retain going into the resumption of the Europa League knockout stage.
Kevin Medina is a fitness doubt for Qarabag while Patrick Andrade is also away on international duty. Their comfortable league position should allow them to rotate and keep key players fresh for a historic fixture in the club’s history.
Line-ups
Braga are looking to enjoy better fortunes in this competition so they would want to impress and go as far as possible. Artur Jorge should also keep it simple with the selection and stick with his trusted team.
Braga: Matheus; Gomez, Fonte, Saatci, Borja; Moutinho, Pizzi; Bruma, Zalazar, Horta; Banza
The strongest lineup available to Qarabag must take to the field against Braga and battle for a result. Leandro Andrade and Juninho are their most potent players going forward thus they would be tasked with carving openings in the Braga defence.
Qarabag: Lunev; Vesovic, Mustafazade, Medina, Cafarguliyev; Romao, Jankovic; Andrade, Benzia, Zoubir; Juninho
Prediction
Braga must grab the game by the scruff of the neck to take charge of the tie. The onus is on them to dominate the visitors and they must live up to it on home soil. Given their experience in Europe and their story so far, Qarabag are capable of getting a result to take to the second leg but they must be at their very best on the night.
Indeed, all of Qarabag’s effort may not make up for the quality of their opponents but it would nevertheless be an interesting tie to observe from a neutral perspective.
Braga 3-1 Qarabag
