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Braga and Sporting will meet in a high-profile clash at the Braga Municipal Stadium in their Primeira Liga opener on Sunday. The hosts finished fourth last season, while Sporting failed to retain their league title, finishing six points behind Porto.
Braga played five friendlies in the pre-season, winning four and drawing one. Sporting, meanwhile, had just one win in their six friendlies. Interestingly, teams suffered a 2-0 loss against Portimonense in the pre-season.
Braga vs Sporting Head-to-Head
The two rivals have met 125 times across competitions since 1955. As expected, Lisbon-based Sporting have been the better team in this fixture, recording 75 wins against their southern rivals and losing 31, while 18 games have been drawn.
The last 13 meetings between the two teams have produced conclusive results, with five wins for Braga and Leoes recording eight. Braga emerged 2-1 winners in the last meeting between the two teams. It was their first win over the Lisbon giants since 2021.
Braga form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-W-W.
Sporting form guide (all competitions): D-L-L-W-D.
Braga vs Sporting Team News
Braga
The hosts have no reported absentees for their campaign opener. They should field a strong starting XI as they look to secure their first win at home in this fixture since 2020.
Injured: None.
Suspended: None.
Doubtful: None.
Unavailable: None.
Sporting
Daniel Braganca is sidelined with a knee injury, while Antonio Adan will miss the game with a ligament injury. Manuel Ugarte has resumed training, but his involvement here remains doubtful. Bruno Tabata has recently agreed to join Palmeiras but will play no part in this fixture.
Injured: Daniel Braganca, Antonio Adan.
Suspended: None.
Doubtful: Manuel Ugarte.
Unavailable: None.
Braga vs Sporting Predicted XIs
Braga (3-4-2-1): Matheus Lima (GK); Bruno Rodrigues, Vítor Tormena, Paulo Oliveira; Francisco Moura, Ali Elmusrati, Ricardo Horta, Lucas Mineiro; Rodrigo Gomes, Abel Ruiz; Andre Horta.
Sporting CP (3-4-3): Franco Israel (GK); Goncalo Inacio, Sebastian Coates, Luis Neto; Pedro Porro, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Santos, Hidemasa Morita; Francisco Trincão, Islam Slimani, Pedro Goncalves.
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Braga vs Sporting Prediction
Braga and Sporting have UEFA Champions League aspiration this season and will look to get their respective campaigns underway with a win. Home advantage has not worked for Braga in recent meetings against Sporting, and the trend should continue here.
Prediction: Braga 1-2 Sporting.
