MATCH PREVIEW: BRAGA 1-0 MARSEILLE (EUROPA LEAGUE – PLAY OFFS) FREE BETTING PICKS FOR TODAY, FEBRUARY 22
League: Europa League – Play Offs – 1/16-finals
Match: 21:05 Braga – Marseille
Prediction: Over 1.5 Goals
Average odds: 1.35
Bookmaker: bwin
Result: 1:0 LOST
MATCH PREVIEW
| Braga were finalists of this competition back in 2011, but lost out to Porto in an all-Portuguese final. If they are to get anywhere near the final this year, they first have a mountain to climb as they lost the first leg 3-0 at Marseille last week. |
| This round-of-32 second leg game will be the fourth clash between the two sides in the history of the Europa League (EL). Braga won this fixture 3-2 in the 2015/16 EL group stage, and with away goals crucial, Braga’s failure to score in the first leg will surely not ease their task. |
| From two home games against French sides in European competition, Braga show a balanced home record one win and one defeat and have a neutral H2H goal difference (GF 3, GA 3). |
| Portugal is an unhappy hunting ground for Marseille, as they haven’t won a single game there in six matches. Their last trip to Portugal was in November 2017 when they lost 1-0 at Guimaraes in the EL Group Stage. |
| Players to watch: Braga striker Ricardo Esgaio is in great form this season with four goals and seven assists so far – the third-best assists total in Braga’s domestic league. |
| He will go head-to-head with 25-year-old French midfielder Florian Thauvin who has 15 goals and ten assists for Marseille in Ligue 1 – he has six goals in his last four matches in all competitions. |
| Stat attack: Braga’s EL home matches are usually high scoring affairs, with more than 2.5 goals (total) scored in six of their last seven clashes. They have also conceded at least one goal in each of their last 13 home fixtures in the EL. |
| Marseille are winless on the road in the EL this season (D5, L2), and no other club has received more red cards than Marseille, who are currently on three. Rudi Garcia’s side come into this game unbeaten in 2018 in all competitions (W8, D3). |
MARCH (+1400 EURO)