Santa Clara vs Braga - prediction, team news, lineups

Santa Clara volition beryllium looking to widen their unbeaten commencement to the Primeira Liga play erstwhile they invited Braga to Estadio de Sao Miguel connected Sunday evening.

The Azoreans person won 4 and drawn 2 of their opening six matches, portion the Archbishops caput into the contention with 3 victories from their 5 league outings (D1, L1) aft their second-round gathering with Gil Vicente was postponed.

Match preview

Santa Clara's singular commencement continued past play erstwhile they travelled to Arouca and secured a 2-1 victory, courtesy of first-half strikes from Goncalo Paciencia and Dje Tavares, leaving Ivan Barbero's effort aft the interruption arsenic thing much than a consolation.

That effect leaves Petit's broadside 4th successful the Primeira Liga table aft collecting 14 points from their opening six games, having already acceptable a caller nine grounds for their champion points tally aft 5 rounds with 11, surpassing the erstwhile precocious of 9 achieved successful 2024-25.

The unbeaten tally has been built connected a peculiarly beardown commencement astatine Sao Miguel, wherever Santa Clara person won some of their league fixtures this term, beating Famalicao 1-0 earlier producing their biggest location triumph of the run with a 4-0 thrashing of Rio Ave.

The Azoreans look determined to marque up for their disappointing 13th-placed decorativeness past term, 8 places little than the erstwhile run erstwhile they secured a historical continental berth connected their instrumentality to the apical flight, with Sunrday's crippled offering different accidental to physique connected their awesome start.

Meanwhile, Braga get successful the Azores with a somewhat little settled league campaign, though Carlos Vicens's broadside recovered from their archetypal decision of the play astatine Estrela Amadora by edging past Estoril Praia 1-0 past clip retired done Jonas Wind's precocious winner.

The effect leaves the Archbishops seventh successful the standings with 10 points from 5 Primeira Liga matches, portion the postponement of their matchday 2 location gathering with Gil Vicente means Vicens’s broadside inactive person a crippled successful manus connected astir of the teams astir them.

Braga's distant grounds is peculiarly applicable up of this trip, having taken 4 points from 3 league journeys truthful far, winning 2-1 astatine Moreirense (2-2) and winning astatine Alverca (2-1) earlier losing 2-1 to Estrela Amadora, and volition purpose to found a much accordant tally connected the road.

Meanwhile, the Arsenalistas picked up 29 points from their 17 league travels the erstwhile term, though Vicens knows that his squad could bash with betterment if they are to situation for the apical 3 aft missing retired connected the Europa League qualification spot contempt finishing fourth.

Heading into Sunday's trip, the visitors tin instrumentality encouragement from their wide grounds against Santa Clara, having won 14 of the 24 competitory meetings (D6, L4) betwixt the clubs, though Braga's astir caller sojourn to Sao Miguel ended successful a 2-1 decision backmost successful April, leaving the Archbishops astatine hazard of suffering back-to-back losses successful this fixture for the archetypal time.

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Braga Primeira Liga form:

Braga signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Santa Clara person nary large caller wounded concerns heading into the weekend, though MT remains sidelined with a genu ligament injury, portion Sorriso is suspended pursuing his reddish paper past clip out.

Pedro Ferreira is acceptable to marque his 100th authoritative quality for Santa Clara if selected, having started each league crippled this play and becoming 1 of 4 players to person played each infinitesimal for Petit successful 2026-27.

Meanwhile, Paciencia should pb the enactment again aft taking his league tally to 5 goals with his onslaught astatine Arouca, portion Tavares is besides expected to clasp his spot aft scoring and assisting successful that aforesaid match.

Braga stay without Sekou Niakate, who is inactive recovering from his Achilles tendon rupture and has not featured this season, though Adrian Bajrami, Vitor Carvalho, Bright Arrey-Mbi and Gustaf Lagerbielke are each options for the backmost three.

Club skipper Ricardo Horta is backmost successful contention aft recovering from a musculus occupation and played implicit 30 minutes against Estoril, portion summertime signing Wind volition beryllium hoping to gain his archetypal commencement for the nine aft making an interaction disconnected the seat past clip out.
 

Santa Clara imaginable starting lineup:

Franca; L Soares, Pacheco, Fernandes, G Romao; Ferreira, Ribeiro; Brenner, Tavares, V Lopes; Paciencia

Braga imaginable starting lineup:

Bernardo; Lagerbielke, Vitor Carvalho, Bajrami; Gomez, Gorby, Tiknaz, Martinez; Horta, Wind, P Victor

We say: Santa Clara 1-1 Braga

Santa Clara's unbeaten commencement and their cleanable location grounds and 5 goals without reply astatine Sao Miguel, gives Petit's broadside a beardown platform, though Braga person capable prime and acquisition to forestall the hosts from having things each their ain way.

The visitors person already shown immoderate inconsistency distant from location but recovered good against Estoril, portion their humanities vantage successful this fixture means they should beryllium susceptible of taking thing from this one, truthful we expect the points to beryllium shared.
 

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.