Sporting Braga vs Fiorentina

Estádio Municipal de Braga is the venue as Sporting Braga and Fiorentina meet each other in the first leg of their Europa Conference League knockout round playoffs.

Sporting Braga dropped out of the Europa League group stage after finishing third in Group D behind Union SG Royale and Union Berlin despite managing a decent 50% win ratio across six group fixtures (W3, D1, L2). Braga’s debut in the Europa Conference League may not necessarily be a pleasant experience, with the ‘Archbishops’ going winless in their last five games against Italian opponents in UEFA competition (D2, L3). However, having transformed the Estádio Municipal de Braga into a fortress following an impressive run of seven wins in their last nine home outings in major European competitions (D1, L1), Artur Jorge’s side will be looking to turn their fortunes around. On top of that, the Portuguese giants have been victorious in their last three home matches in the knockout stage of European competitions, keeping a clean sheet on each occasion.

As for Fiorentina, despite starting their Europa Conference League Group A campaign with back-to-back winless games (D1, L1), they eventually nailed a runner-up spot behind Istanbul Basaksehir after winning four group matches in a row. Three of those four victories came by multi-goal margins, suggesting ‘La Viola’ may have found their feet in Europe’s third-tier competition ahead of their trip to Braga. The Italians boast an eye-catching six-game unbeaten record against Portuguese clubs in European duties (W3, D3), keeping a clean sheet in the most recent four. Additionally, Vincenzo Italiano’s men have suffered just three defeats across their last 25 away European fixtures, including qualifiers (W15, D7).