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Braga will welcome Union Berlin to the Estádio Municipal de Braga in their upcoming UEFA Europa League group stage fixture on Thursday.
The home team kicked off their campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Malmo, with Bruno Rodrigues and Ricardo Horta scoring in either half. They continued their rich form in their league fixture against Rio Ave on Sunday as well, recording a 3-2 away win.
Union Berlin suffered a 1-0 loss to Union Saint-Gilloise with Senne Lynen scoring the only goal of the game. Sven Michel was red-carded in injury time in the second half. They recorded a 1-0 win over Koln in the Bundesliga on Sunday, though they had to count on Timo Hubers' own goal.
Braga vs Union Berlin Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides across all competitions. Braga have faced five German teams across all competitions, while this will be the first encounter against a Portuguese opponent for the visitors.
Braga form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Union Berlin form guide (all competitions): W-L-D-W-W
Braga vs Union Berlin Team News
Braga
There are no fresh injuries for Os Arcebispos, but Victor Gomez and Sikou Niakate remain sidelined with previous injuries. This relatively injury-free spell has helped them field a similar starting XI in their recent games, contributing to their five-game winning run.
Injured: Victor Gomez, Sikou Niakate
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Union Berlin
Frederik Rønnow is back in training after missing the club's league game against Koln with an ankle injury. With the goalkeeper back in training, they have no reported absentees for the trip to Braga, as Timo Baumgartl was on the bench against Koln.
Sven Michel's red card in the campaign opener against Malmo will keep him out of the game through suspension.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Sven Michel
Unavailable: None
Braga vs Union Berlin Predicted XIs
Braga (3-4-2-1): Matheus Lima; Bruno Rodrigues, Nuno Sequeira, Paulo Oliveira; Andre Castro, Ali Elmusrati, Ricardo Horta, Fabiano; Diego Lainez, Abel Ruiz; Andre Horta
Union Berlin (3-5-2): Frederik Ronnow; Paul Jaeckel, Robin Knoche, Danilho Doekhi; Niko Giesselmann, Christopher Trimmel, Janik Haberer, Rani Khedira, Julian Ryerson; Sheraldo Becker, Kevin Behrens
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Braga vs Union Berlin Prediction
The home team have been in solid form this season and have enjoyed an undefeated run across all competitions, winning their last six games. Die Eisernen had also enjoyed an unbeaten start to their 2022-23 campaign but suffered a defeat in their Europa League opener against Union Saint-Gilloise last week.
Berlin's lack of experience in European competitions and Braga's home advantage and form indicates that the game should end in a comfortable win for the home team.
Prediction: Braga 2-1 Union Berlin
