Qarabag vs Braga prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-02-21 17:45.
QarabaÄź pulled off the biggest shock of this UEFA Europa League knockout stage when stunning Braga 4-2 in Portugal to go a long way towards making this their finest-ever European campaign. The reigning Azerbaijani champions and current league leaders have never progressed beyond the knockout play-off round of a UEFA competition in its current format, having fallen at this point of the UEFA Conference League in their two previous seasons.
They come into this second leg buoyed by a formidable set of home results that will no doubt raise hopes of an historic progression to the last 16. QarabaÄź have lost just one of 15 UEFA matches on their own patch (W8, D6) since the start of 2022/23, and that sole defeat was only 1-0 against current Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, a scoreline that in this case would still be enough to win this tie on aggregate.
Given that Braga’s only losses in 16 competitive home games (W8, D5) prior to the first leg were to Real Madrid, Napoli and Portuguese league leaders Benfica, they were understandably expected to be far too good for Qarabağ. After last week’s setback, manager Artur Jorge declared that “it’s time to rally” as Braga look to replicate their 2010/11 campaign of reaching the Europa League final after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group.
Braga have never won a UEFA tie after losing the first leg at home, but there’s some reason for optimism, as they have emerged victorious in three of their five European away fixtures this term (L2), including a 4-1 triumph at Serbia’s TSC en route to the Champions League group phase. If they need to look any further back for inspiration to overcome the multiple-goal deficit, Braga eliminated Sheriff Tiraspol on penalties in the Europa League knockout play-off round two years ago, having lost the first leg 2-0.
Players to watch: Qarabağ’s Juninho has struck in five of his last seven appearances and scored four Europa League goals in 2023/24, while Braga’s Simon Banza has netted in both his club outings since returning from the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Hot stat: Eight of Braga’s 11 UEFA matches this season have produced over 2.5 goals.