On Wednesday, February 1, Sporting Lisbon and Braga will meet in the most important Primeira Liga matchup of the week. The hosts are coming off a loss to Porto in the Portuguese League Cup final by a score of 2-0. The Dragons won their first Taca da Liga title with goals from Stephen Eustaquio and Ivan Marcano in each half.
In contrast, Braga prevailed at Pacos Ferreira with a thrilling 2-1 victory. Jordan Holsgrove leveled the score ten minutes later after Vitinha gave them a lead in the 58th minute. After that, in the seventh minute of injury time, substitute Simon Banza scored to lead his team to victory.
Artur Jorge’s team remained in second place in the standings thanks to the victory. With one game remaining, they are seven points behind league leaders Benfica. In contrast, Sporting is fourth, making this game crucial to the title race.
Due to their consistent start to the season, Braga has established themselves as unlikely contenders for the league title. They want to win their first league title. Os Arcebispos are the only team that has beaten Benfica in all competitions this season and are the only team that threatens to halt the Eagles’ march toward the title.
Their title charge will be strengthened by another victory over a capital team, but it won’t be easy against a Sporting team still reeling from their loss to Porto. Due to the quality of both teams, the game is likely to be fiercely contested, but Braga should win by a small margin.
Prediction: Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Braga
Sporting has a 45-to-21 record against Braga in their last 74 matches. In the League Cup quarterfinals in December 2022, Sporting won 5-0 in their most recent meeting. Since then, Braga has won five games in all competitions and has won ten of their last 11 games in all competitions.
Sporting has scored at least three goals in ten of its last thirteen competitive games. In their last five encounters with Braga, both teams have scored four times and scored at least three goals. Braga has the league’s best away record this season, with 24 points from nine games and the most goals scored by any team on the road.
Sporting Lisbon will play without forward Paulinho, who is 30 years old and has been suspended after receiving a red card in the Cup final loss to Porto. Spanish fullback Porro, who is 23 years old and is moving closer to joining Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, will not participate in Wednesday’s match.
Veteran defender Luis Neto is also out of contention for the Leoes due to a knee injury, which has kept him out of action since September. After suffering a severe cruciate ligament rupture in May, Portuguese midfielder Daniel Braganca continues his long road to full fitness, while French youngster Jean-Baptiste Gorby will miss the match due to a muscle injury.
Ricardo Horta, the Portuguese forward who has scored 13 goals in 16 league games, did not travel to Pacos de Ferreira last time out and is a question for the visitors.
Sporting Lisbon:
Braga:
| Country | Channels |
| United Kingdom | BoxNation |
| Germany | DAZN, DAZN2 |
| United States | Fox Soccer Plus, ViX |
| France | Molotov, Free, L’Equipe, L’Equipe Web |
| Nepal | SONY TEN 3 HD, Sony LIV, SONY TEN 3 |
| India | JioTV, SONY TEN 3 HD, SONY TEN 3, Sony LIV |
| Sri Lanka | Sony LIV, SONY TEN 3, SONY TEN 3 HD |