Sporting Braga vs Vitoria Guimaraes Match Analysis & Prediction
30/10/2024 9:45 pm
Thursday night will see holders Sporting Braga host Vitoria Guimaraes in the quarter-finals of the Taca da Liga, a competition now with a new format from this season.
To lighten the workload on teams in Portugal, the competition is now just an eight-team event, with the Primeira Liga’s top six and the two automatic promoted clubs fighting it out for the country’s second-tier domestic cup.
After a surprise defeat at home to notoriosly poor-travellers Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League last midweek, Braga claimed a 2-0 victory over Farense at the weekend in the league heading into this cup tie.
Carlos Carvalhal’s side remain fifth in the league standings on 17 points, and are just two adrift of Benfica in third, but they have played a game more.
A win was welcome after recent results which saw Braga beaten by Olympiacos, lost at Porto and only limp past third-tier Dezembro in the other domestic cup, before losing to Bodo/Glimt.
Braga’s record in this competition is superb, considering they are not part of the traditional big three in Portugal, having won it on three occasions since 2013, reaching a further two finals as well.
Penalty-shootout glory over Estoril saw them take the trophy last season, and Braga will see this as a promising opportunity to make it into the semi-finals, a stage they have reached nine times in the last 13 seasons.
However, Vitoria Guimaraes will provide a stern test, especially given the fact that they have already won at the Quarry in the league this season.
However, a 2-2 stalemate against Estrela at the weekend means Vitoria Guimaraes slipped two points behind Braga, as some indifferent league form recently has seen them drop to sixth.
Four wins from their opening five had Rui Borges’ side joint-second early on, but they are now winless in four Primeira Liga matches, having not won since that victory at Braga.
Prioritising cup competitions over the thankless task of trying to break into the top three is perhaps a wise idea, and after beating Pacos de Ferreira in the Taca de Portugal, Vitoria Guimaraes made it two from two in the Conference League, securing a 2-1 victory away to Djurgardens last midweek.
That will be the inspiration to improve their fortunes in this competition, where they have only made it past this stage twice, as they went on to lose in the semi-finals on both occasions, to Benfica in 2008-09 and Porto in 2019-20.
Sporting Braga vs. Vitoria Guimaraes Head to head
In the previous 64 meetings between these two teams, Braga have claimed 30 victories while Guimaraes have won 20, and they have drawn in 14. Guimaraes have scored 68 goals and conceded 90 in the process.
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11/01/2023Sporting Braga3Vitoria Guimaraes2Taca de Portugal
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28/02/2023Vitoria Guimaraes2Sporting Braga1Primeira Liga
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06/01/2024Sporting Braga1Vitoria Guimaraes1Primeira Liga
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11/05/2024Vitoria Guimaraes2Sporting Braga3Primeira Liga
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15/09/2024Sporting Braga0Vitoria Guimaraes2Primeira Liga
Sporting Braga Team News
Bright Arrey-Mbi was sent off in Braga’s defeat to Guimaraes in the league last month, and the German will be absent here as he continues to recover from a muscle issue.
Sporting Braga's Last 5 Matches
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03/10/2024Olympiacos3Sporting Braga0Europa League
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06/10/2024Porto2Sporting Braga1Primeira Liga
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19/10/20241° Dezembro1Sporting Braga2Taca de Portugal
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23/10/2024Sporting Braga1Bodo/Glimt2Europa League
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27/10/2024Sporting Braga2Farense0Primeira Liga
Vitoria Guimaraes Team News
The only injury concern for Vitoria Guimaraes regards Jorge Fernandes, who is a doubt for this match due to a shoulder issue.
Vitoria Guimaraes's Last 5 Matches
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02/10/2024Vitoria Guimaraes3Celje1Conference League
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06/10/2024Vitoria Guimaraes2Boavista2Primeira Liga
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19/10/2024Pacos Ferreira1Vitoria Guimaraes3Taca de Portugal
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24/10/2024Djurgarden1Vitoria Guimaraes2Conference League
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27/10/2024Estrela2Vitoria Guimaraes2Primeira Liga
Sporting Braga vs. Vitoria Guimaraes: Odds and Predictions
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