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Fourth-placed Braga entertain league leaders Porto at the Estádio Municipal de Braga in Portuguese Primeira Liga action on Monday.
Braga exited from the Europa League almost 10 days ago at the hands of Rangers and in their subsequent league fixture played out a goalless draw at Estoril Praia last week.
They trail third-placed Benfica by 12 points and it is very unlikely that they'll be able to overtake the Lisbon giants in the standings.
Porto, on the other hand, are on a six-game winning streak in the league. After a 7-0 thumping of Portimonense last week, they defeated arch-rivals Sporting in the Taca de Portugal on Friday.
If they can secure a win here, they will only need a point from their last three games to clinch the league title. If second-placed Sporting drop points, the visiting side will become the Portuguese champions.
Braga vs Porto Head-to-Head
The two northern Portuguese rivals have crossed paths 130 times across all competitions. The visiting side have dominated the proceedings against the hosts, leading 87-18 in wins while 25 games have ended in draws.
Braga have been the better side in recent encounters against Dragões, winning four of their last eight encounters in this fixture. When the two sides met at the Estádio do Dragão in December, the then-hosts came out on top with a 1-0 win.
Braga form guide (all competitions): D-L-W-W-W
Porto form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Braga vs Porto Team News
Braga
Roger Fernandes and Nuno Sequeira are the two long-term absentees for the hosts. There are no fresh injury concerns for Os Arcebispos and Vítor Oliveira returns from a one-game suspension. On-loan defender Diogo Leite is ineligible to play against his parent side.
Injured: Roger Fernandes, Nuno Sequeira.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: Diogo Leite.
Porto
The visitors travel to Braga without four players. Wilson Manafá, Bruno Costa and Mateus Uribe are out with injuries, while Pepe was awarded a 23-day ban following his involvement in a brawl against Sporting in January. He has already served a two-game suspension and this punishment has been awarded by the disciplinary committee in addition to the same.
Injury: Wilson Manafa, Mateus Uribe
Suspension: Pepe
Doubtful: Bruno Costa
Braga vs Porto Predicted XIs
Braga (3-4-2-1): Matheus Lima (GK); Bruno Rodrigues, Vítor Tormena, David Carmo; Yan Couto, Ali Elmusrati, Ricardo Horta, Lucas Mineiro; Iuri Medeiros, Abel Ruiz; Andre Horta.
Porto (4-4-2): Diogo Costa (GK); Zaid Sanusi, Chancel Mbemba, Fábio Cardoso, Eduardo Cossa; Fabio Vieira, Stephen Eustaquio, Vitinha, Otavio; Evanilson, Mehdi Taremi
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Braga vs Porto Prediction
Porto have the best attacking and defensive record in the league and have avoided defeats in 30 league games so far. They have produced solid displays against the top four sides this season and should face no problems in securing a win here. They have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last eight games across all competitions.
Braga scored three goals in their last home game against Benfica and they are expected to put up a fight here. We expect the game to end in a narrow win for the visitors.
Prediction: Braga 1-2 Porto
