On Thursday night, Sheriff Tiraspol and Sporting Braga go head-to-head at the Bolshaya Sportivnaya Arena in the first leg of the last 32 of the Europa League.
Sheriff Tiraspol made headlines earlier this season when they recorded wins over Shakhtar Donetsk and famously Real Madrid in their opening two games in the Champions League group stages. It looked like they could be shock qualifiers for the knockout stages.
O sucesso não é dado ⚡ O sucesso é merecido 💪😤⚽Vamos à procura dele em mais um capítulo da #UEL! pic.twitter.com/osJt35ZeOU— SC Braga (@SCBragaOficial) February 14, 2022
O sucesso não é dado ⚡ O sucesso é merecido 💪😤⚽Vamos à procura dele em mais um capítulo da #UEL! pic.twitter.com/osJt35ZeOU
However, the Moldovan team’s bubble was quickly burst, as they went on to lose the next three games in the group and draw the last match to finish third-place.
A third-place finish in such an illustrious group was still an achievement for the Moldovan champions, though.
Sheriff are in familiar territory in the Europa League, as they have appeared in the competition on a regular basis in recent seasons.
However, the home team don’t have a great recent record in the competition, as they have failed to win in four Europa League matches.
Sporting Braga have become seasoned European campaigners in recent seasons. The Portuguese made it out of the group stages having recorded three wins and a draw.
However, they failed to win their last two games in the group stages, losing 3-2 against Midtjylland and drawing 1-1 at home to Red Star Belgrade.
The visitor’s games in this competition have guaranteed goals in recent seasons, with two or more goals scored in 13 of their last 14 outings in the Europa League.
Braga will head into this game with a bit of trepidation considering that they have been poor on their travels in the Europa League of late, having lost three of their last four away matches in the competition.
However, Forebet predicts that the Braga will come out on top in a high-scoring game to take a narrow lead into next week’s second leg on home soil.