Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia

Preview: Braga vs. Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 5 August 2022, 22:33
With the Primeira Liga season kicking off over the weekend, Braga will entertain Sporting Lisbon in Sunday in arguably the pick of the games.

After winning the league title in the 2020-21 season, Os Leoes fell six points short last season, while their hosts eventually finished fourth, 20 points worse off that Sunday's opponents.

Match preview

Braga's strong standing in the Primeira Liga continued last campaign, as they remained the leading side outside of Portugal's big three, eventually finishing 14 points clear of fifth-placed Gil Vicente and marginally beating their own points tally from the previous year with 65.

After three straight victories, Os Arcebispos took on Famalicao on the final day, but they were unable to finish on a high, despite taking a two-goal lead through Ricardo Horta and Vitinha, as a Simon Banza brace and a Bruno Rodrigues goal saw them condemned to a 3-2 defeat.

Having again ended fourth in the top flight, after reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League and eventually dropping out at the hands of Rangers, Carlos Carvalhal brought his two-year stint as manager to an end over the summer, with Artur Jorge, who turned out over 200 times for Braga in his playing career, now promoted to the first-team hot seat.

Newly under Jorge's management, Os Arcebispos enjoyed a positive start to pre-season, as they put together consecutive wins over Arouca, Middlesbrough, and AFC Bournemouth, before suffering a defeat at the hands of Portimonense.

Having finished their preparations with a 2-1 win over La Liga outfit Celta Vigo, Braga will hope to kick off their hopes of cracking the top three this year with what would be an eye-catching opening day win.

Sporting Lisbon make the trip to the Estadio Municipal looking to kickstart their season with a triumph in their bid to regain the Primeira Liga title.

After winning the Portuguese top flight for the 19th time in the 2020-21 season, Ruben Amorim's side set out to retain their crown last season, and they stayed in the fight throughout the campaign but eventually finished second, despite matching the previous campaign's points tally of 85.

With Porto establishing themselves at the top of the table for the majority of the season, Os Leoes had a six-point gap to bridge in the final five games, but they would suffer a harmful defeat at the hands of Lisbon rivals Benfica, and, despite winning their last four games, the defending champions would eventually fall short as Porto sealed the title on the penultimate day.

Turning their attention to the new term after failing to pick up a trophy, the capital side began their preparations with draws against Union Saint-Gilloise and Villarreal, before beating Roma and suffering defeats at the hands of Portimonense and Sevilla.

Having finished with a draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, as Pedro Goncalves netted their goal from the penalty spot, Amorim's men will be desperate to begin their title pursuit on the front foot with a winning run to start the season, beginning with an opening-day win on their travels.

Braga pre-season form:

Sporting Lisbon pre-season form:

Team News

Braga head into the new season without defender David Carmo, who departed for Porto in the summer, seeing Os Arcebispos receiving the second highest transfer fee in their history.

In his absence, Vitor Tormena and Paulo Oliveira should be crucial at the heart of the back four, while the likes of Ali Musrati and Andre Horta will continue to feature heavily in midfield.

New signing Simon Banza could be deployed at the top end of the pitch from the first game, although the likes of Abel Ruiz, Vitinha, Diego Lainez, Ricardo Horta and Rodrigo Gomes will all be fighting for attacking spots.

Several changes will be made to the Sporting Lisbon team of last season, as key midfielder Joao Palhinha has left to join Fulham, while attacker Gonzalo Plata and defender Zouhair Feddal have also left with Pablo Sarabia's loan deal coming to an end.

Amorim has bolstered his options with several signings, though, as defender Jeremiah St Juste has arrived at the Estadio do Dragao alongside midfielder Hidemasa Morita and creative attackers Rochinha and Francisco Trincao, while Pedro Porro's move from Manchester City has been made permanent.

Pedro Goncalves should continue to play a key role in the front three, having hit 31 league goals across the last two seasons, likely leaving the likes of Rochinha, Trincao, Paulinho, Marcus Edwards, Nuno Santos and Islam Slimani to fight for the final two places.

With first-choice goalkeeper Antonio Adan set to miss out through injury, Franco Israel should operate between the sticks at the weekend.

Braga possible starting lineup:

Matheus; Gomez, Oliveira, Tormena, Sequeira; Musrati, A Horta, Castro; R Horta, Banza, Lainez

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Israel; Neto, Coates, Inacio; Porro, Nunes, Ugarte, Reis; Goncalves, Paulinho, Trincao

We say: Braga 1-2 Sporting Lisbon

Sunday will certainly be a tough opening test for Sporting Lisbon against one of the Primeira Liga's strongest sides, but we see Ruben Amorim's men coming away with all three points.

Previews by email

Top News

13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Championship title hopefuls Leeds United will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they travel to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday lunchtime. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League courtesy of a 4-1 victory over 10-man Real Sociedad in the second leg of their last-16 contest in the competition on Thursday night. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and made Europa League history as Manchester United came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 4-1. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea maintained their flawless record in the Conference League as they defeated Copenhagen 1-0 on Thursday, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory and booking their place in the quarter-finals. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of ending a 17-year trophy drought remain alive thanks to a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, which sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides looking to move further clear of the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone go head-to-head on Saturday as Kasimpasa welcome Alanyaspor to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams looking to bounce back from defeats meet on Saturday as Istanbul Basaksehir host Trabzonspor at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Off the back of a narrow loss to Inter Miami in their last league outing, Charlotte FC will host FC Cincinnati in their latest MLS fixture at the Bank of America Stadium on Saturday evening. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table will go head-to-head as Konyaspor welcome Besiktas to the Torku Arena. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep will be looking to secure three successive victories for the first time this season when they welcome relegation-threatened Kayserispor to Gaziantep Stadium on Saturday. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Kansas City will be looking to snap their run of five defeats from their opening five games when they play host to Minnesota United at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday morning. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton welcome West Ham United to Goodison Park for a bottom-half Premier League contest on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford boss Thomas Frank has revealed that Fabio Carvalho faces an uphill battle to play again this season. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has named Ayden Heaven in his starting side for Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg with Real Sociedad. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Mauricio Pochettino has told talkSPORT he dreams of returning to Tottenham one day. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea and Copenhagen have confirmed their starting lineups for Thursday's Conference League fixture at Stamford Bridge. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes Pep Guardiola's side will need to score at least two goals if they wish to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santos president Marcelo Teixeira is hopeful that the club will be able to sign Neymar to a fresh contract. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Erling Haaland will attempt to set a fresh Premier League record when Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Former Premier League striker Jermain Defoe has exclusively told Sports Mole he does not believe that Darwin Nunez can rescue his career at Liverpool. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Real Sociedad midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is reportedly unavailable for their second leg clash Manchester United due to visa issues. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in Lille forward Jonathan David. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have confirmed that Ferland Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines with the muscular problem that he picked up during Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United could be without up to four players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton are set to be without five players for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk UEFA have revealed that they will "enter discussions" with FIFA and IFAB over a potential rule change following Julian Alvarez's controversial spot-kick in Wednesday's Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton manager David Moyes will renew acquaintances with one of his former clubs West Ham United when they do battle at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion could be without up to seven players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be without at least four players for Saturday's Premier League clash Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia's battle to stay out of the La Liga relegation zone will continue on Saturday night, when they head to Estadi Montilivi to tackle a Girona outfit that are without a victory since the start of February.