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

The visitors are currently fourth in the table, five points behind leaders Sporting Lisbon, while Vizela have had a tough campaign to date, only picking up 10 points to sit down in 17th position.

Match preview

Vizela's 11th-place finish in the Primeira Liga last season proved to be their highest-ever final spot in Portugal's top flight, but they have been unable to build on their success from last term thus far in 2023-24.

Indeed, a difficult opening few months to the campaign has seen them pick up just 10 points from 12 matches courtesy of a record of two wins, four draws and six defeats, which has left them in 17th spot in the table.

Vizela are only one point above basement side Arouca but sit just two points behind Estrela in 12th, which is an indication of how quickly things could change, with a couple of positive results in quick succession capable of propelling them up the division.

Pablo Villar's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Chaves last Friday, but they were on a three-game unbeaten run ahead of that contest, which included a 1-0 success over Casa Pia in the league.

Vizelenses struggled in their two league meetings with Braga last season, losing 2-0 away in September 2022 before suffering a 4-0 defeat at home towards the start of 2023.

Braga, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a 3-1 victory over Estoril on Sunday, with the result moving them onto 26 points from 12 league matches this season.

The visitors, who are fourth, have won eight, drawn two and lost two of their Primeira Liga games this term, which has left them two points behind third-placed Porto, three from second-placed Benfica and five behind leaders Sporting.

Braga are comfortably the leading goalscorers in the Primeira Liga this season, finding the back of the net on 33 occasions, which is 15 more than Porto, but they have shipped 19, which is the most in the top eight.

Artur Jorge's side still have an outside chance of finishing second in their Champions League group to advance to the round of 16, needing to beat Napoli by two or more goals when they lock horns in Italy on December 12.

Os Arcebispos have never actually won Portugal's top flight, but they have finished third in two of the last four campaigns and will be looking to stay in touch with the top three at a vital stage of the campaign.

Vizela Primeira Liga form:

L

D

L

W

D

L

Vizela form (all competitions):

W

L

W

D

W

L

Braga Primeira Liga form:

W

W

D

W

W

W

Braga form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

D

W

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Team News

Vizela will be without the services of Bruno Wilson through suspension, with the defender sent off late on against Chaves last time out, which is likely to lead to Matheus Pereira coming in for a start.

The home side are otherwise in good shape, and head coach Villar is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the team's last match.

Samuel Essende is the team's leading goalscorer in the league this season, finding the back of the net on five occasions, and he is again set to operate in the final third of the field.

As for Braga, head coach Jorge could have a full complement of players available for this match, with the team not reporting any injury problems from their last game.

As mentioned, the team have been full of goals this season, with 12 of those coming from Alvaro Djalo, while Simon Banza has nine, and the pair will be in the starting side for this match.

Ricardo Horta is also having a strong campaign, scoring nine times from a wide position, and the 29-year-old is expected to be in the first XI for Friday afternoon's contest with Vizela.

Vizela possible starting lineup:

Buntic; Silva, Pereira, Anderson, Escoval; Nascimento, Ortiz, Samu; Moreira, Essende, Lacava

Braga possible starting lineup:

Matheus; Gomez, Fonte, Saatci, Borja; Moutinho, Carvalho; Djalo, Pizzi, Horta; Banza

We say: Vizela 1-3 Braga

Vizela are capable of making this a tricky match, and we are expecting them to score on Friday, but Braga's attacking quality should allow them to triumph. The visitors have so many goalscorers in their team, and it would be a surprise if they were unable to claim all three points in this contest.

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