Moreirense and Sporting Braga will clash in the Primera Liga this Friday night as the two look to spark a little bit of momentum in their league campaign with both sides not quite on top form right now.
Moreirense will be looking to build on last season's eighth-placed finish, which for their standards, was classed as a positive campaign after cracking the top half once more. They started the 2021/22 campaign in arguably the toughest manner possible when they hosted title-chasing giants Benfica, where they would lose 2-1 in what was a decent effort by the home side.
READY. TO. GO! 🔥Gverreiros aceleram para o duelo com o Moreirense🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/vuXZTMpJsy— SC Braga (@SCBragaOficial) August 18, 2021
READY. TO. GO! 🔥Gverreiros aceleram para o duelo com o Moreirense🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/vuXZTMpJsy
Lucas Verissimo and Luca Waldschmidt took the lead for Benfica, before Rafael Martins halved their two-goal lead just before half time. Unfortunately for them, Joao Henriques's side couldn’t draw level, despite Diogo Goncalves receiving a red card in the second half.
A week later, the club were on course for another loss as Carlos' goal gave Santa Clara a 1-0 lead heading into injury time, just as Moreirense had only 10 men on the field after Rodrigo Conceicao's saw red.
However, in stunning fashion, Yan scored from the spot to draw his side level in the 90th minute, which was only the start of the chaos.
Once again, shortly after, Carlos bagged another to give them a 2-1 lead, just before they snatched a point right in the dying embers as Andre Luis's equalised in the 10th added minute - it was a truly memorable game in the Primera Liga.
Now, after narrowly losing to the league favourites Benfica and coming from behind on two separate occasions in incredible style, Moreirense should have a bit of momentum and some confidence heading into Friday's clash. However, Braga have proven time after time to be no easy draw.
The club have consistently been looked at as the ‘best of the rest’ in Portugal over the past decade, with Sporting Lisbon, Porto, and Benfica all occupying the top three on a consistent basis each year. Braga did surpass Sporting two seasons ago to finish third, but dropped back into fourth last campaign.
In 2021/22, however, Braga have won one and lost, with this defeat coming against the reigning champions, Lisbon. Abel Ruiz managed to score in injury time for Braga that day, but ultimately, the gap in class was shown once more as the champions edged them out in a 2-1 win.
Given Braga’s rise the last few years and their clear superiority, Forebet predicts they will reign supreme here and get another three points on the board.