Braga v Napoli

Braga vs Napoli Preview

Group C kicks off with this upcoming tasty clash between Portuguese side, Sporting Braga, and Italian visitors, Napoli, when these two sides meet at the Estádio Municipal de Braga and one of these sides are expected to join Real Madrid into the knockout rounds of the Champions League a little later on.

Sporting Braga head into this opening match in Group C on the back of a domestic top flight 3-1 loss away from home at Farense though, which put an end to a previous six-match unbeaten run in all competitions that included no fewer than five wins, so the hosts will now be looking to make amends when they return to the more familiar surroundings of their Estádio Municipal de Braga on Wednesday night.

Braga have progressed through two earlier qualifying rounds to reach the group stage after recording wins against Serbian outfit, Baka Topola, 7-1 on aggregate before securing a 3-1 win on aggregate against Greek side, Panathinaikos.

Domestic wins in the Portuguese Primeira Liga against Chaves and Moreirense should also give Braga a welcome boost ahead of this European tie although in their last appearance in this competition (some 11 years ago), Braga had been handed four defeats on the trot in the group stage.

Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw away from home at Genoa in Serie A on Friday night which followed a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to Lazio but the visitors had previously put together a solid and impressive 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions which included no fewer than nine wins in the process.

Napoli won the Italian Scudetto at the end of last season by a significant 16-point margin over runners-up, Lazio, which saw them automatically qualify for the group stage of this season's Champions League and in recent times, Napoli have registered wins on the road at Juventus (towards the end of last season) and this season's 3-1 win on the road Frosinone.

Results on the Champions League stage have been fairly steady as well, with the Italian visitors losing just twice in their last 10 Champions League ties which also include picking up seven wins as well, while the bigger picture shows Napoli have actually lost just three out of their previous 18 ties overall at this level.

Sporting Braga v Napoli Verdict

Braga once again rub shoulders with the elite clubs in Europe after an 11-year absence and although they hold home advantage here on Wednesday night for this opening match in Group C, it may take the Portuguese side a little while to bed in at this level and their situation isn't helped by having to play Napoli in this opening fixture.

Napoli look the more likely to secure the three points here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Napoli win @ 1.85

Other side bets worth considering:

Napoli win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.75

Correct score: Napoli 2-1 @ 8.50