Braga vs SC Freiburg Predictions

• Braga have won nine of their last 14 home games (D4, L1)
• Freiburg have a mixed road record in Europe (W2, D2, L2)
• Both teams have scored in four of Braga’s last six games

Braga and Freiburg bidding for final spot

Braga host Germany’s Freiburg in the Europa League semi finals on Thursday and home advantage could be key in the first leg.

The winner will come up against a Premier League side in the final at Beşiktaş Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, as Nottingham Forest face Aston Villa in the other last four tie.

Both Braga and Freiburg lost their domestic fixtures at the weekend but we probably shouldn’t read too much into that as they will have had their respective eyes on this fixture.

Freiburg are the slight favourites to qualify for the showpiece and perhaps justifiably so, but they may have to come from behind as Braga have an excellent record at their Estádio Municipal de Braga home.

Os Arcebispos have won nine of their last 14 home games across all competitions, losing just once, and they’ve won five of their seven home Europa League games this season including qualifiers – again suffering just one defeat.

Freiburg won at Celta Vigo in the previous round but that victory came after they’d effectively ended the tie with a 3-0 win in the first leg. The Bundesliga club lost at Lille and Genk in the earlier stages of the competition and were held to a 0-0 draw at Plzen, and they are coming into the game after very recent cup disappointment as they were eliminated from the DfB Pokal last week.

Goals at both ends looks likely

A home win looks a strong option for our main bet when considering the prices but backing both teams to score at around evens also stands out. Braga have conceded in five of their last seven at this venue and the Breisgau-Brasilianer were on an eight-game scoring run prior to their 4-0 defeat at BVB. Taking that into account, a 2-1 win for the Portuguese club seems a reasonable correct score prediction.

Braga gave striker Pau Victor the weekend off for the defeat at Santa Clara so he should come into Thursday’s game fresh. Victor scored against Betis in the previous round and has three goals in his last four games, he looks a decent contender for an anytime effort on Thursday.