Braga v Panathinaikos

Braga vs Panathinaikos Preview

Portuguese hosts, Sporting Braga, will be seeking to produce a repeat of their previous tie in the Champions League qualifiers when they play host to Greek visitors, Panathinaikos, at their Estádio Municipal de Braga in Wednesday night's 1st leg of this play-off tie.

Braga safely navigated their way through the two-legged 3rd Qualifying Round tie against Serbian outfit, FK Baka Topola, in the previous round as the Portuguese hosts recorded a comprehensive 7-1 win on aggregate to take their place in these crucial play-off ties for the right to progress through to the group stage proper in the Champions League.

Overall results have certainly been favourable for Braga who have lost just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions which came in the shape of a 2-1 loss at home to Famalicao in the Portuguese Primeira Liga but Braga have also picked up eight wins in the process as well.

One of these wins saw Braga bounce back with a win in the domestic top flight when they registered a 4-2 win away from home at Chaves on the weekend and this will give Braga a welcome boost ahead of this vital 1st leg tie at their Estádio Municipal de Braga.

Panathinaikos joined the Champions League at the 2nd Qualifying Round stage where they managed to see off Ukrainian side, Dnipro-1, by a 5-3 victory on aggregate, winning 3-1 away from home in the 1st leg and then drawing 2-2 at home in the return leg.

The Greek side then met French Ligue 1 side Marseille in the previous 3rd Qualifying Round in what was a tense and closely fought battle which saw the scores level at 2-2 on aggregate after the two legs, but Panathinaikos just about squeezed through on penalties.

Overall form has also been pretty steady for Panathinaikos as they have suffered just the one defeat in their last 12 matches in all competitions and includes winning eight games as well, but perhaps the visitors may just be lacking full match fitness heading into these play-off ties.

With the Greek domestic top flight season not starting until next Saturday, Panathinaikos have had to make do with various pre-season friendlies ahead of their qualifying campaign in this season's Champions League and this may hamper the Greek visitors over two legs against a strong Braga outfit.

Braga v Panathinaikos Verdict

These two clubs have never met before in any competition prior to this important 1st leg but Sporting Braga with home advantage and a solid sequence of results under their belts (that also include more competitive game-time) look to hold the edge over Panathinaikos in this crucial 1st leg.

Therefore, our main bet will be Braga win @ 1.66

Other side bets worth considering:

Braga win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.87

Correct score: Braga 2-1 @ 9.00