Sporting Braga B

vs

SC Sao Joao Ver

Preview

Braga B

• Braga B are 6th in Liga 3 Group A with 23 points from 16 games.
• Braga B have not lost at home in Liga 3, Group A this season, winning 5 and drawing 3 of 8 matches.
• Ruca Sá’s side have mixed form with two wins, a draw and two defeats in their last five league matches.
• However, their two most recent results, a 2-1 home victory over AD Marco 09 and a narrow 1-0 away defeat to Amarante FC, point to the progress the team are making under his stewardship.
• Sá has maintained the attacking, possession-based, development-focused style that Simao Freitas brought to the club in his brief tenure at the helm.
• The Sporting B coach likes to be flexible in the formations he uses, allowing the ball to dictate their shapes as they press high up the field and look to make quick transitions to attack.

SC Sao Joao Ver

• SC Sao Joao Ver are 9th with 13 points from the same number of matches.
• SC Sao Joao Ver have lost four of their last five, including their last three.
• Lomba’s men sit deep and look to frustrate the opposition, then hit them on the counter-attack and from set-pieces.
• But the lack of quality in their squad has prevented them from getting a consistent run of results and they are currently on a three-game losing streak that includes a 1-0 home defeat to Amarante FC and a 0-4 thumping away to AD Fafe.

Key Players

Betting Insights

• Sporting’s kids should come out on top at 1.85 with a draw at 3.18 also a possibility.
• The bookmakers’ odds reflect the home advantage factor and the fact that Braga B are unbeaten at home while Sao Joao Ver have lost two and failed to score in their last two road games.
• The clash of youthful exuberance against experienced pragmatism could well produce a cagey game, so the Under 2.5 goals market at 1.73 is also worth exploring.
• Braga B averages 1.12 goals per home game while Sao Joao Ver concede 1.88 and score 0.75 per game on their travels.

Prediction