Braga vs Rio Ave Predictions

Braga are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, following their midweek draw with Wolves in the Europa League, and will be looking to leapfrog their guests on Monday night with a win. Rio Ave have enjoyed a bright start to the season and head into Monday’s clash on the back of 1-0 wins on league and cup, so we’re expecting a close and competitive ninety minutes between the pair.

All of the stats point towards Monday’s match being low-scoring and we’ve backed Braga to claim a narrow 1-0 win in front of their own fans.

Under 2.5 goals have been scored in four of the last six meetings between these two clubs, as well as in three of Braga’s and all of Rio Ave’s last six matches, so you can start to see just why we are expecting a low-scoring match on Monday.

Braga have won three of their last six matches and are unbeaten in five games across all competitions, and have only lost once at home this season. while Rio Ave have lost two of their five away games. The hosts average 1.60 points per home game while the visitors average 1.40 points per away game, and it’s on these fine margins that tight games are decided and it’s stats like these that have us backing a 1-0 Braga victory.

Braga score an average of 1.80 goals per home game and Rio Ave concede an average of 1.00 goals per away game, which adds more weight to our prediction for a 1-0 home win on Monday. Braga have scored 9 goals at home this season, while Rio Ave have only scored 5 goals on the road. The hosts have only failed to score in 20% of their home games while Monday’s guests have failed to score in 60% of their away games.

Rio Ave have lost-to-nil in 40% of their away games and have conceded as many one-goal margin defeats as defeats with a margin of two goals or more this season but have only conceded more than one goal in one of their last six matches, away at the league leaders Benfica.

We’re confident that under 2.5 goals will be produced in Monday’s clash and we have predicted a final scoreline of 1-0 in favour of Braga. The hosts head into the match as the slight form favourites in terms of their current unbeaten run but Rio Ave are playing well and should prove a tough nut to crack. However, Braga have a decent home record and their guests have sometimes struggled for goals on the road which could well be their downfall on Monday night.