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It is a top-of-the-table clash in Group F of the Europa League as Red Star Belgrade travel to the Estadio Braga Municipal to face Sporting Braga on Thursday.
Despite both sitting in the top half of the standings, they risk missing out on a place in the knockout stages as the top three sides in the group are separated by just two points.
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Sporting Braga were denied a fourth win on the bounce in Group F of the Europa League as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Midtjylland on November 25. The loss saw the Portuguese side drop to second place as Red Star Belgrade claimed top spot following their 1-0 win over Ludogorets Razgrad.
Braga head into the game on a two-game winning run in the Primeira Liga and will look to keep the ball rolling and seal their place in the next round.
Red Star Belgrade, on the other hand, maintained their blistering run of results as they claimed a 2-0 win over Napredak Kruševac in the Serbian Superliga. Dejan Stanković’s men have now won each of their last seven games on the bounce across all competitions, scoring 15 goals and conceding just two in that time.
They now turn their focus to the Europa League where they currently sit at the top of Group F, one point behind Thursday’s hosts and two behind third-placed Midtjylland.
Sporting Braga vs Red Star Belgrade Head-To-Head
This will be the fifth encounter between the two sides. The results have been split right down the middle in their previous two meetings, with each team picking up one win each. The spoils have been shared twice in that period.
Sporting Braga Form Guide: L-W-L-W-W
Red Star Belgrade Form Guide: W-W-W-W-W
Sporting Braga vs Red Star Belgrade Team News
Sporting Braga
The Portuguese side will have to cope without the services of David Carmo, Nuno Sequeira, Vitor Tormena, Ali Elmusrati and Wenderson Galeno, all of whom have been sidelined due to injuries.
Injured: David Carmo, Nuno Sequeira, Vitor Tormena, Ali Elmusrati, Wenderson Galeno
Suspended: None
Red Star Belgrade
The visitors head into the game with a clean bill of health and we expect head coach Dejan Stanković to name his strongest side for this crunch tie.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Sporting Braga vs Red Star Belgrade Predicted XI
Braga Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Matheus; Raul Michel Melo da Silva, Paulo Oliveira, Diogo Leite; Yan Couto, Francisco Moura, Lucas Piazon, Andre Castro; Iuri Medeiros, Ricardo Horta; Mario Gonzalez
Red Star Belgrade Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Milan Borjan; Milan Rodic, Radovan Pankov, Aleksandar Dragovic, Milan Gajic; Njegoš Petrović, Guelor Kanga; Mirko Ivanic, Nenad Krsticic, El Fardou Ben; Milan Pavkov
Sporting Braga vs Red Star Belgrade Prediction
The visitors have been utterly dominant in the competition this season and will look to close out their group stage run on a high. While they head into the game as the more in-form side, we are predicting the hosts to take the game to the visitors and force a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Sporting Braga 1-1 Red Star Belgrade
