The Israeli side started their journey in the Champions League back in July, but they face the Portuguese club in the first round of the Europa League. Somewhere along the way, things went off track.
Sporting Braga made their intentions clear from the start, entering the Europa League from the second qualifying round. They easily dispatched another Israeli club, Maccabi Petah Tikva (2:0, 5:0). It got tougher after that, with narrow victories over Swiss side Servette and Austrian club Rapid Vienna, each by a one-goal margin. In the Portuguese league, they are doing well, but can perform better. We don’t think the team planned to drop points against Gil Vicente, but they did due to a goalless draw (0:0). In the previous round, they even lost at home to Vitória Guimarães (0:2). It was a poor performance: hardly creating anything (six shots, two on target, xG 0.47), while the opponents scored more than expected (xG 0.98).
Maccabi Tel Aviv have won all four matches this season in the domestic league, extending their overall winning streak to nine matches. However, before this, the team was eliminated at their first stage of the Champions League qualifiers by FC Steaua Bucharest (1:1, 0:1), conceding the decisive goal at home in the 90th minute. The top scorer for Maccabi at the start of the season is 20-year-old Dor Turgeman. He has scored two goals in four matches in the Israeli Premier League and three goals in four matches in the Europa League.
Maccabi Tel Aviv are in good form and performing confidently, so they can at least hope for a point. Although Sporting Braga have more resources, their play and results aren’t particularly impressive. We believe it’s better to back the visitors with a +1.5 handicap; the Portuguese club won’t win by more than one goal.
