Braga vs Besiktas Predictions

Braga were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Famalicao at the weekend but remain in good form heading into this week’s Europa League tie. Besiktas won 2-1 at Antalyaspor on Saturday but have lost all their group games in the Europa League, struggling to compete in a group they had been tipped to qualify from.

All the stats suggest the most likely outcome on Thursday is a home win and we’ve backed Braga to claim all three points courtesy of a 2-1 final score.

Braga have won their last two matches against Besiktas, most recently in October, when the scoreline ended 2-1 in Turkey, so you can see why we’ve backed a 2-1 home win this time around.

The form of the two clubs heading into Thursday’s clash adds weight to our prediction for a home win, as Braga have won four of their last six matches and are unbeaten in the Europa League this season, picking up two wins and a draw, while Besiktas have lost their opening three games in the Europa League.

The performances of both clubs during the last month have led us to our 2-1 prediction, as both teams scored in four of Braga’s last six and two of Besiktas’ last three matches. The hosts have scored two team goals in four of their last six, while their guests have only failed to score in two of their last six outings.

We’re confident Braga will win on Thursday, as the hosts are the form favourites and have already beaten their guests this season. However, Braga haven’t kept many clean sheets of late and their guests arrive with a good scoring record. Besiktas have struggled in Europe this season and we expect that poor run to continue in Portugal this week; we believe their hopes of qualification from Group K will come to an end.