Sporting Braga vs Sheriff Tiraspol Match Analysis and Prediction

4 years ago 662

With a 2-0 advantage on their name, Sheriff Tiraspol travel to face Braga on Thursday for the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie.

Goals at the end of each half of the game gave Sheriff Tiraspol another famous win during an historic European campaign, and will fancy their chances of breaking further ground at Estadio Municipal de Braga.

Heading into last week’s tie, Braga boss Carlos Carvalhal would have been confident of overcoming opponents who had not played a competitive game for more than two months.

However, it was Sheriff who finished each half on the front foot, and a penalty from Sebastien Thill and a late second from Adama Traore put their side on the brink of a surprise place in the last 16.

Os Arcebispos, having won five of their last nine matches in all competitions, their is a perception that the result went against the formbook, but Carvalhal’s men struggled for goals since the resumption of action on January 9.

Braga have failed to find the back of the net more than twice in any of those matches, with their last fixture away at lowly Tondela being decided by a secong-half goal from Ricardo Horta.

Meanwhile, at a time when Braga were being pushed all of the way by Tondela, Sheriff were enjoying the weekend off with their domestic action not resuming until February 28.

Head coach Yuriy Vernydub would have naturally had his concerns regarding the sharpness of his players ahead of the first leg, but he will now have total belief that they can get the job done in Portugal.

Some optimism will come from four points collected from away matches at Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, and that shows the kind of task that awaits Braga on Thursday.

Braga vs Sheriff Tiraspol head to head

The two teams have previously met on only one occasion in the first leg of the Europa League last-32 tie, where Sheriff Tiraspol took a 2-0 home victory.

Sheriff 2-0 Sporting Braga 17/02/22

Sporting Braga latest home form

Sporting Braga have recently been on a relatively good form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They lost 1-0 to Maritimo in the league on January 15. In their last five matches, they have won three, drawn one and lost one,scoring 7 goals and conceding 4.

Sporting Braga 1-0 Belenenses 20/12/21

Sporting Braga 2-2 Famalicao 09/01/22

Sporting Braga 0-1 Maritimo 15/01/22

Sporting Braga 2-0 Moreirense 30/01/22

Sporting Braga 2-1 Pacos Ferreira 12/02/22

Sporting Braga latest away form

Sporting Braga have recently failed to be consistent with their form on the road. They defeated Tondela 1-0 in their last league away game off the back of a defeat in the Europa League. In their last five matches, they have won three and lost two, scoring 10 goals and conceding 5.

Arouca 0-6 Sporting Braga 30/12/21

Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Sporting Braga 22/01/22

Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1 Sporting Braga 05/02/22

Sheriff 2-0 Sporting Braga 17/02/22

Tondela 0-1 Sporting Braga 20/02/22

Sheriff Tiraspol latest home form

Sheriff have recently been on a good run of form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They recently lost 3-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League. In their last five macthes, they have won four and lost one, scoring 19 goals and conceding 3.

Sheriff 6-0 Zimbru 06/11/21

Sheriff 0-3 Real Madrid 24/11/21

Sheriff 7-0 Dinamo-Auto 28/11/21

Sheriff 4-0 Zimbru 11/12/21

Sheriff 2-0 Sporting Braga 17/02/22

Sheriff Tiraspol latest away form

Sheriff have recently been on a good run of form on the road, haivng been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They recently picked up a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have won two, drawn two and lost two.

Inter Milan 3-1 Sheriff 19/10/21

Petrocub 0-2 Sheriff 31/10/21

Floresti 1-3 Sheriff 20/11/21

Petrocub 0-0 Sheriff 02/12/21

Shskhtar Donetsk 1-1 Sheriff 07/12/21

Sporting Braga news

Braga will be able to call upon defender Diogo Leite after being absent in the trip to Moldova through suspension.

Andre Horta and Yan Couto could potentially be brought back to the starting lineup, while Vitor Oliveira may get the nod over Abel Ruiz down the middle of the attack.

Sheriff Tiraspol news

Sheriff will be boosted with the return of both Edmund Addo and Gustavo Dulanto after the completed their respective bans.

John Charles Petro may drop out of the three-man backline, while Addo will be pushing Boban Nikolov for a start in midfield, with Giorgos Athanasiadis retaining his place between the sticks.

Prediction and Odds

Sheriff enter the contest with confidence from their first leg victory, which they will fight hard to maintain for their chance advancing to the next stage.

Braga have recently been on a good form at home, but this fixture may be a tough one for them, and we see the game ending level.

Odds: 1 2.20 X 2.05 2 2.35