Braga vs Chaves Predictions

Braga continue to impress this season and remain in the title race just four points behind league leaders Porto and one behind second placed Benfica. On Sunday the Braga fans will be expecting another three points when they play host to second from bottom Chaves, but the visitors have only lost one of their last six matches, keeping four clean sheets in the process.

Braga struggled to break down a resolute Aves defence in the first half of their match last weekend, but the visitors claimed a comfortable 2-0 win in the end. The two goals both arrived in the second half and were separated by just six minutes, with Goiano giving Braga the lead on the hour mark and Paulinho wrapping up the points with the second goal. Aves managed just one shot on target and only had 40% of the overall possession in their own backyard, and in truth Braga could, and probably should, have won by even more.

Chaves took the lead at home to Maritimo last time out, in what was a very tight and tense ninety minutes that certainly wont live long in the memory of either set of supporters. The teams went in goalless at the break, providing very little talking points, and during the ninety minutes shared the overall possession and mustered a total of five shots on target between them. Both teams saw more of their efforts go wide of the mark than hit the target, and the game was settled in the sixty-ninth minute by Belarus international midfielder Bressan whose effort earned Chaves a vital win in their bid to avoid relegation.

We’re expecting another closely fought match on Sunday despite the two teams competing at opposite ends of the Primeira Liga table this season, as each of the defences have shown rigidity and confidence of late. Braga have to be considered the favourites to claim a narrow win on Sunday as they have won five of their last six matches against Chaves, and managed to keep five clean sheets during that period also. the hosts head into the game as the form favourites having won four of their last six matches in all competitions, and kept three clean sheets in their last four. Chaves’ clean sheets record beats Braga’s, with four in their last six games, but with the home advantage and Dyego Sousa up front we backing Braga to win the game.

The above mentioned Dyego Sousa has scored thirteen league goals for Braga this season, with just one of those arriving in the form of a penalty. Chaves have had to be economical with their goals of late as they late a natural goalscorer up front, with Ghazaryan top scoring on just three Primeira Liga goals.

We’re confident that Braga will win to nil on Sunday, and have backed a narrow final scoreline of 1-0. The hosts are flying high and look really confident heading into the match, and in Sousa they possess a genuine match-winning striker. Chaves have defended very well of late, other than the heavy defeat by Porto, and we expect another solid performance from their backline, but ultimately a Braga victory and clean sheet.