Come the end of play on Thursday the 17th of March we will know the 8 quarterfinalists of the 2021/22 Europa League. Two teams hoping to reach the quarter final meet at the Stade Louis II as Monaco play Sporting Braga. The hosts currently trail 2-0 from the first leg and have work to do to progress.
Monaco come into the game having lost 1-0 at Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on the weekend. The only goal of the match was scored in the 23rd minute and allowed Strasbourg to pull away from Monaco in the race for European football next season.
Por este símbolo nós vamos dar TUDO! Prontos para o que der e vier ⚔Vamos 𝗷𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀, Legião!#UEL pic.twitter.com/Cu3Nu9oYY6— SC Braga (@SCBragaOficial) March 15, 2022
Por este símbolo nós vamos dar TUDO! Prontos para o que der e vier ⚔Vamos 𝗷𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀, Legião!#UEL pic.twitter.com/Cu3Nu9oYY6
That result means Monaco have lost 4 of their 5 most recent fixtures in all competitions and they have recorded just a single victory in their last 7 games.
However, recent home form shows Monaco are tough to beat at the Stade Louis II and they are undefeated in 14 of their last 15 matches in all competitions.
In their 7 most recent matches in the Europa League, Monaco have been undefeated 6 times. They are undefeated in 9 of their last 10 home Europa League games and have kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 on home soil.
In contrast, their goal scoring record is not great and Monaco have failed to score more than a single goal 6 of their last 7 home Europa League matches.
Sporting Braga make the trip to the Stade Louis II on the back of a 1-0 loss at home in the Portuguese Primeira Liga to Gil Vicente. The goal came in the 89th minute which was a blow to the chances of Sporting Braga challenging for third place in the league this season.
However, that was the first defeat for Sporting Braga in their 6 most recent games in all competitions. There have been 3 victories in those 7 matches, 2 of which have come in the Europa League, including the first leg of this tie and a 2-0 home win over Sheriff in the previous round.
Sporting Braga have won their last 2 games in the Europa League but they are the only 2 wins they have achieved in their 5 most recent matches in the competition.
Their away form shows 4 defeats from their last 5 on the road in the Europa League and Sporting Braga have seen under 2.5 goals scored in their 4 most recent Europa League matches.
Team news and Monaco are without the injured duo of Cesc Fàbregas and Krepin Diatta.
Sporting Braga also have two players who are unlikely to feature in the game with Roger Fernandes and Nuno Sequeira both suffering from a muscle problem.
Monaco will believe they have what it takes to win this game and they are the favourites to succeed on their own turf. They have a good defensive home record in the Europa League so Monaco could keep a clean sheet but they may struggle to score more than a single goal, meaning Sporting Braga progress 2-1 on aggregate.