Braga Form and Squad
The 1:2 defeat to Santa Clara did not affect Braga's position in the Primeira Liga standings. The team can no longer catch the top three, and with three matches left in the campaign they are 5 points clear of Famalicao – a fairly comfortable cushion. On the other hand, the team collapsed away to a relegation contender: 0.15-2.55 on xG and only three shots despite 63% possession. The disparity in touches in the opposition box (3-21) is also alarming. Yes, the coaching staff started with a second-string lineup and gradually introduced the key players from the bench, but now the coach is not confident in the reserves – if the initial game plan fails, nothing can be changed.
Key Braga stats:
Since 22 March, Braga have scored 2+ goals only twice in eight matches in all competitions.
Since the start of March, Braga have won only two of six home games.
Leading striker Martinez has no goals in the Primeira Liga this season. Since the start of 2026 he has scored only once in all competitions.
Potential Braga Lineup (3-4-1-2)
Lukas Hornicek — Bright Arrey-Mbi, Vitor Carvalho, Gustaf Lagerbielke — Ricardo Horta, Demir Ege Tiknaz, Jean-Baptiste Gorby, Florian Grillitsch — Gabri Martinez — Victor Gomez, Pau Victor.
Out of squad: Sikou Niakate, Diego Rodrigues, Adrian Leon Barisic (all injured).
Freiburg Form and Squad
Freiburg suffered a defensive collapse away to Borussia Dortmund (0:4), but that opponent is in no way comparable with Braga's weekend league rival, who had only lost in the Bundesliga to a rampant Bayern Munich before April. Even so, the team have generally struggled to pick up results away from home in the German top flight. However, the visitors were excellent in the previous Europa League playoff round against Celta de Vigo (6:1 on aggregate), opening up a heavy margin in Vigo by the 50th minute. The Grifo–Suzuki partnership has been outstanding in Europe, combining for 8 goals and 5 assists, and their skill set is almost perfectly suited to Julian Schuster's counter-attacking style.
Key Freiburg stats:
Before travelling to Dortmund, the team had not conceded more than one goal in regulation time in any of their previous five away matches.
Freiburg have the sixth-best xGA figure in the Bundesliga (48.92 over 31 matches).
In this season's Europa League campaign, Freiburg have never conceded more than one goal away from home.
Potential Freiburg Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Noah Atubolu — Jordy Makengo, Philipp Lienhart, Matthias Ginter, Philipp Treu — Johan Manzambi, Maximilian Eggestein — Vincenzo Grifo, Yuito Suzuki, Niklas Beste — Igor Matanovic.
Out of squad: Patrick Osterhage, Max Rosenfelder (both injured).
