The Braga team enters this new commitment after a 1-2 domestic win over Marítimo on the weekend in the domestic tournamentThey register 46 points and are just 2 points behind the last vacant spot for a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Although they were eliminated from the group stage of the Europa League, the Portuguese team intends to advance in this tournament, taking advantage of its great form in the domestic league.
They have won 7 of the 9 most recent matches they have played in all competitions, losing only once and drawing in the Portuguese Cup against Benfica in a match they ended up winning on penalties.
Braga appear to be in the enviable position of having no injury or suspension concerns, meaning that Jorge can choose what he considers to be his strongest starting XI against Fiorentina.
Unlike their opponents, Fiorentina comes into foreign soil after losing 1-0 to Juventus on the weekend in Serie A. This results complicates even more a situation that has them place 14th in the Italian First Division standings.
The loss was the fifth match without a win in the domestic tournament, with four defeats and a draw, which does not give them any confidence to face this first leg, especially because they have failed to win in their 4 most recent away games. The Viola will not count on Antonin Barak once again for this match, a player who had earned his place as a starter in midfield.
Moreover, with I Viola’s only ever continental triumph coming when beating Rangers in the final of the 1960-61 Cup Winners’ Cup, Italiano has a genuine chance of cementing his legacy at the club should he be able to guide them all the way in the Europa Conference League.
With Jose Mourinho and Roma winning the inaugural competition last season, there is no reason as to why Fiorentina cannot follow in their compatriots’ footsteps, even if they are likely to require a rise in performance levels against Braga in order to progress to the last 16.
