Read our prediction for Santa Clara vs Braga below. This preview was written by a sport journalist who is specialised in betting tips and predictions. Use our betting tips for the match between Santa Clara vs Braga and you can increase your winnings!
Santa Clara vs Braga Prediction & Betting tips
With the Portuguese league NOS, the next top league awoke from the Corona break on Wednesday. The first match day after the long break – Matchday 24 – extends from Wednesday evening to Sunday. A total of ten game days must be completed before the 2019/20 season is over.
Once again, Benfica Lisbon and FC Porto are fighting for the championship at the top. With a gap of respect, Sporting Braga is in third place in the table. At the restart, the team is visiting abroad. On Friday evening there will be a duel between Santa Clara and Braga.
Last year’s climber Santa Clara can be quite satisfied with the way the season has gone so far. As a look at the betting base table service shows, the no-name club is currently ninth in the table and eight points ahead of the first relegation rank.
Braga can also be quite satisfied in view of position three, the lead before the restart at Sporting Lisbon, where ex-Braga coach Amorim is now in charge, is currently four points. Before the break, Braga presented himself in excellent form and that is why, in the duel between Santa Clara and Braga, according to current odds, the guests are seen as a clear favorite. The game starts on Friday evening at 20:00 p.m.
Santa Clara:
The club in the Azores made its debut in the Portuguese football upper house in the 1999 season, but had to return to the second division after only one season. From 2001 to 2003 there were two more seasons in the Liga NOS. Thereupon, however, it took until 2018 before the renewed ascent was fixed.
As tenth in the table, the team never really faced relegation last season. In the course of the season so far, the relegation ghost is not to be found in the Azores. For the first time in the club’s history, CD Santa Clara could succeed two times in a row in the Portuguese football upper house.
In the previous 24 games, the team of head coach Joao Henriques has celebrated eight wins, drawn six times and suffered ten losses. In total, this makes 30 counters and nine places in the table.
The underdog attaches great importance to an orderly defensive (26 goals against), but thereby lacks any punch in offensive play. In total, only 19 goals were scored in 24 games. In view of these figures, the bet on the Under 2.5 and “Both teams meet – no” is a lucrative option between Santa Clara and Braga.
Braga:
Third place has been the maximum feeling for Sporting Braga in recent years. The runner-up championship was celebrated in the 2009/10 season, otherwise the team usually ranked third to fifth. Although Braga is currently in third place, the third different coach is already on the bench.
After two years with Abel Ferreira, Ricardo Sa Pinto took over the club at the start of the season, but disappointed especially at the start of the season. Only one win was achieved in the first six league games and Braga fell far short of expectations but was able to catch up again. At the end of the 2019 calendar year, however, it suffered two losses against Desportivo Aves and Paco Ferreira.
This ended Ricardo Sa Pinto’s term of office and B-coach Ruben Amorim was introduced as the new head coach. 13 competitive games later (10-1-2 record), the 35-year-old was poached by Sporting Lisbon. The Green-Whites had his services cost ten million euros, only Brendan Rodgers (Celtic to Leicester) and Andre Villas-Boas (Porto to Chelsea) have paid higher transfer fees for a coach.
After the good experience with a young coach from his own ranks, the 37-year-old Custodio (ten-times national player as a professional) was promoted by the assistant coach of the U17 team and from then on he is in charge of Braga. His debut was ahead of the Corona mandatory break and Braga celebrated a 3-1 win over Portimonense.
A look at the last results underlines the top form of the red and white. Braga has collected 28 out of 30 possible points in the last ten league games, making them the strongest team in the Portuguese league NOS. Not surprisingly, the betting base odds comparison in the game between Santa Clara and Braga shows the tip on the guests as the most likely outcome.
Santa Clara vs Braga head to head matches
28.10.19 PL Braga Santa Clara 2 : 0
29.01.19 PL Braga Santa Clara 1 : 0
19.08.18 PL Santa Clara Braga 3 : 3
21.07.18 CF Santa Clara Braga 1 : 2
20.11.16 TP Braga Santa Clara 2 : 1