Royale Union SG vs Braga prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-10-12 16:45.
It’s been a dream start to Royale Union’s maiden foray into UEFA competition as the Belgians are yet to be beaten in UEFA Europa League (UEL) Group D (W3). Showing impressive resilience coupled with a never-say-die attitude, all three victories came by a one-goal margin, with Braga the most recent side in Europe to be felled by the Belgians after Union claimed a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture thanks to two goals after the 85th minute.
A victory by the same 2-1 scoreline followed at the weekend against Cercle Brugge, meaning Royale Union have now won their last five games in all competitions and have scored in every one of their competitive home games this term (W6, L1). Royale Union fans have become used to celebrating whether in Brussels or Leuven, where they play their European games, and few would begrudge them enjoying this remarkable purple patch given they played below Belgium’s top-flight between 1972 and 2021!
Braga’s form coming into this is far worse than that of their hosts as they’ve lost their last three matches, but despite that, a win here could see them finish the round on top of the group (W2, L1). Their future prospects now appear brighter too, after Paris Saint-Germain’s owners (Qatar Sports Investments) recently agreed to buy a minority share in the club.
That’s already led to talk of future UEFA Champions League qualification but for now Braga will be fully focussed on bouncing back from last week’s first defeat to a Belgian side since 2011. All three of their previous visits to Belgium ended in draws, but a repeat doesn’t seem particularly likely given Braga have drawn just one of their last 17 UEL away group stage games (W7, L9).
Players to watch: Gustaf Nilsson was Union’s hero in Portugal with his match-turning late brace but prior to that, his last five competitive strikes had opened the scoring. Meanwhile, Ricardo Horta netted between the 65th and 70th minute in two of Braga’s last three away games.
Hot stat: Braga have collected an average of 4.25 yellow cards per game across their last four fixtures (W1, L3).