Preview: Braga vs. Malmo - prediction, team news, lineups

The Swedish outfit, who have endured an abysmal European campaign so far, will set out to end their five-game losing streak and bow out of the competition with their heads held high.

Match preview

While it might be too early to say, Braga have stamped their name as early title contenders and shown serious intent in challenging the traditional "big three" for the Primeira Liga title this season.

A driving force behind their impressive campaign has been newly-appointed head coach Artur Jorge, who has been at the club since 2012 — minus a four-year stint in charge of lower-tier sides Tirsense and Limianos.

The long-serving club coach has guided Os Arcebispos to eight wins in their opening 11 league matches, including a 1-0 victory over Gil Vicente at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos last weekend.

Perhaps the only dent in what has been an impressive spell at the helm has been his side's struggles in the Europa League, where they have picked just one point from the last nine available after winning their opening two matches.

This drop-off has been down to their defensive frailties as Braga have conceded five goals in their last three games in Group D and have dropped to third place in the table, two points off second-placed Union Berlin in the knockout stages qualification playoff spot.

Malmo, on the other hand, returned to winning ways in style as they cruised to an emphatic 5-2 victory away to Varbergs Bois in the Swedish Allsvenskan on Sunday.

Former PSV Eindhoven striker Ola Toivonen turned in a performance of the highest quality at the Varberg Energi Arena as he bagged an impressive hat-trick to put the home side to the sword.

Prior to that, Age Hareide's side were on an eight-game winless run across all competitions, claiming two draws and losing eight since their 2-1 victory away to Helsingborg on September 18.

Malmo will hope that last weekend's result can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form as they turn their attention to the Europa League, where they have endured an abysmal campaign and find themselves rooted to the bottom of Group D.

The Swedish outfit, whose elimination from Europe has already been confirmed, have lost each of their five matches so far and this poor run has been owing to their struggles at both ends of the pitch as they have scored just twice while conceding nine in that time.

Braga Europa League form:

W

W

L

D

L

Braga form (all competitions):

L

L

D

W

L

W

Malmo Europa League form:

W

L

L

L

L

L

Malmo form (all competitions):

L

L

L

L

L

W

Team News

Braga will be without the services of Brazilian defender Fabiano Silva, who will serve a one-match European suspension after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking in last week's game against Union Berlin.

In his absence, Espanyol loanee Victor Gomez should come into the starting side, forming the back four with Sikou Niakate, Vitor Tormena and veteran left-back Nuno Sequeira.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Abel Ruiz, Vitor Oliveira and Ricardo Horta should lead the attack, while Iuri Medeiros, Mutassim Al Musrati and Andre Horta should retain their roles at the centre of the park.

Meanwhile, Malmo will be without the services of several key players down the spine of the team as the likes of defender Niklas Moisander (knee), midfielder Mahame Siby (midfielder) and forward Adi Nalic (knee) are all recuperating from injuries.

Swedish defender Martin Olsson is currently battling a thigh injury, while the midfield duo of Joseph Ceesay and Jo Inge Berget also continue their spells on the sidelines.

Braga possible starting lineup:

Lima; Gomez, Niakate, Tormena, Sequeira; Medeiros, Al-Musrati, Horta; Ruiz, Oliveira; Horta

Malmo possible starting lineup:

Diawara; Beijmo, Hadzikadunic, Chalus; Sejdiu, Larsson, Pena, Rieks; Turay, Thelin, Christiansen

We say: Braga 2-0 Malmo

Braga will be backing themselves to come away with maximum points as they take on a Malmo side who have lost each of their five games in the campaign. The Primeira Liga side appear to have hit their stride once again and we are tipping them to claim a third consecutive victory in this one.

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