Braga – Shakhtar

Sporting Braga will feel confident of qualifying to the next Europa League stage when they host Shakhtar Donetsk, which already won this Group H.

Braga has a 1 point advantage over Gent in the standings, while also leading the H2H against the Belgians. Braga will qualify as long as Gent does not defeat Konyaspor – but if Gent wins, Braga will need to win as well.

The hosts are on the back of a 0-1 defeat against FC Porto, which sent them to the 4th place in the Portugese league. However, Braga is in good overall form and the defeat against Porto was the first one after three excellent results in all competitions – including an Europa League 2-2 draw at Gent, which put Braga in pole position to qualify from this group.

Shakhtar has been utterly dominant in Group H, winning all 5 matches with a 17-3 goal difference. They translated the same form into the domestic league, when they have an incredible record of 15 wins, 2 draws and no losses in 17 matches. Shakhtar is definitely flying high right now, but it remains to be seen how focused they will be in Braga, as they have already won the group and have a crucial game against Dynamo Kiev coming up in 4 days.

Shakhtar is expected to rest some players today and with their big came coming up in a few days, they won`t care too much about this one. Braga will be eager to take advantage and win the game – they will surely love to keep qualification in their hands, as opposed to hoping Gent does not win in Turkey.

Betting against this red hot Shakhtar side seems like a crazy thing to do. But after a long travel, with no motivation and especially with a match against Dynamo Kiev coming up, I doubt Shakhtar will be up for this game. Braga is a solid side and they are always strong at home, so I believe they can take advantage of the situation and win against what should be a weakened Shakhtar outfit.

My tip on this Group H encounter is Sporting Braga to win. Odds are pretty good, but I will keep the stakes reasonable as a sign of respect for Shakhtar’s amazing recent record. Prediction: Sporting Braga – Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1.

Pick: Braga
Odds: 2.13 @ 1xBet
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 6.78
Event date: 8 December