Braga go up against SSC Napoli on Wednesday in a game played out at Estadio Municipal de Braga. This is their first outing this season in the group stage of the Champions League.
Braga are back in the “big leagues” after last seeing this stage in 2012 when they lost five from six and only won a single match. They played four qualifying matches to get here and won them all, which should bolster their confidence before the visit from the Italian champions.
Napoli rather surprisingly managed to grab the Scudetto last season and have managed to keep most of their high-profile players. As such, they should be able to do some damage in the Champions League this season, even after switching their coach as Rudi Garcia replaced Spalletti.
Braga presents an average of just 1.7 goals per game in their last ten games. They scored a moderate 17 times, while also conceding 15. This amounts to an average of 1.5 per game in which, they kept their opponents from scoring in three matches in this tournament.
SSC Napoli head into their next Champions League match, averaging a remarkable 2.6 goals per game in their last ten matches in this tournament. They hit the target a striking 26 times, while also conceding eight. That amounts to an average of 0.8 per game, in which they kept their opponents from scoring four times.
Braga vs SSC Napoli Prediction
Braga Form
Braga went through their last three matches with a 1-1 draw against Sporting CP, a 2-3 win against Moreirense and a 3-1 defeat against Farense. Braga only pulled off two wins from a possible six in recent Champions League matches on home soil. Of the remaining four matches, they drew one and lost three, as they scored eight and conceded nine goals.
SSC Napoli Form
In their previous three matches, SSC Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0, lost 1-2 against Lazio and drew 2-2 with Genoa. In their last six Champions League away matches, SSC Napoli have three wins, they've drawn zero and lost one three. They scored 12 while also conceding seven times. They also experienced zero draws and three defeats.
One could argue the pros and cons for a while in this encounter, but we find the value list with visitors SSC Napoli. Having considered form, strength in squad and history of the two teams, they get the call here.
Braga vs SSC Napoli Stats
- Braga have scored in 22 of the last 24 matches
- Braga have not lost 15 of the last 17 home matches
- Braga have won 5 of the last 7 home matches without conceding a goal
- Braga have not lost 14 of the last 16 matches
- Braga have won 10 of the last 12 matches
- SSC Napoli have scored in the last 12 matches in a row
- SSC Napoli have not lost 17 of the last 19 matches
- SSC Napoli have not lost 12 of the last 14 away matches
- SSC Napoli have scored in 12 of the last 14 away matches
- In 5 of the last 6 SSC Napoli matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
Braga vs SSC Napoli Team News
When SSC Napoli take on Braga at Estadio Municipal de Braga, they will only have one player missing from their selection.
Pierluigi Gollini is too injured to face SSC Napoli.
Braga vs SSC Napoli H2H
Having never shared a season in the Champions League in recent history, this is the first time Braga comes up against SSC Napoli in this context.
Braga vs SSC Napoli Betting Tips
There are a few players in each team who currently draws attention to their name in the goal-scoring department. For the visitors, Victor Osimhen has been hitting the net regularly and now has four goals in his last six games. Should he find himself in the starting line-up on Wednesday, it is because SSC Napoli bank on him to build on these numbers against Braga. The latter relies on Bruma, who found the target three times in six games.
Braga were able to win seven of their previous 10 home games across all tournaments, while drawing one of the games. They suffered defeat in two of these outings. SSC Napoli won five of their last 10 games away, drew three and suffered defeat in two of them. SSC Napoli managed three wins without conceding a goal in their previous 10 matches away from home.
Braga saw over 2.5 goals in seven of their last ten matches across all tournaments, as they scored an average of 2.2 goals during this run. Over 2.5 goals came up in five of SSC Napoli's previous ten matches across all tournaments. They managed to score an average of 2.3 goals in these matches.
