Wolves vs Braga
Europa League
Date: Thursday, 19 September 2019
Kick-off at 20:00 UK/ 21:00 CET
Venue: Molineux Stadium (Wolverhampton).
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Braga Match preview
The Jekyll and Hyde kind of European and national form of wolves should be cause for concern.
In the first two qualifying rounds Europa League, they relaxed by beating Crusaders 6-1 on aggregate before demolishing Pyunik away and then at home by the same 4-0 final score.
Then, in the play-off round, they won 3-2 in Italy before finishing the job at home to beat Torino 5-3 on both legs.
However, perhaps because of these European commitments towards Nuno Espírito Santo have really struggled in the Premier League.
They started with three draws, 0-0 at Leicester before back to back home 1-1 draw with Manchester United and Burnley.
Then, before the international break, they suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 3-2 at Goodison Everton.
On Saturday, they put in by far their best display on the season so far.
Chelsea were 4-0 at Molineux after 55 minutes before finally moving to win 5-2.
This means that wolves are second bottom of the table and are one of two sides yet to win in the league.
However, attention is turning to Europe for now.
Turkish side Besiktas and ŠK Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia are the other two teams in Group K.
Wolves and Beşiktaş are the favorites to make the final sixteenth but Braga are most likely the other two to question them.
Braga vs Wolverhampton Wanderers team news
- As for Braga, Ricardo Sá Pinto certainly can not boast as much talent as his counterpart.
- However, it is fine his chances to imagine leave England with a result.
- Matheus will be in goal looking to add to his own solitary sheet in eight appearances this season.
- Experienced defender Wallace, who is on loan from Lazio, exploded injured Friday night, but should be good enough to play in it.
- Vítor Tormena not well suited; it is always with a muscle problem.
- Ricardo Esgaio will get the green light on Diogo Viana at right back.
- João Palhinha will anchor the midfield allowing Fransérgio club captain trying to create.
- Right, Murilo expected to come into the side at the expense of Galeno.
- The old man LAFC André Horta will also be on the bench again.
- Wilson Eduardo is injured and that is a blow.
- Paulinho lead the line in front of the former Fulham striker Rui Fonte.
Wolves vs Braga Betting Tips
Wolves enjoyed a fairytale return to the Premier League last season, their talented team romped to a 7th place, giving them the qualification Europa League and providing Nuno Santos Espirito with a platform to leverage for the future.
However, the new campaign is not going quite as well, and there is some talk of a case of the dreaded second season syndrome floating around Molineux right now. Of course, it's still early, but there are worrying symptoms.
The performance of Wolves at the weekend is one of them. They were excellent face opposition top six last season, but Chelsea arrived Saturday afternoon and completely dismantled their defensive line. The end result was a 5-2 win for the Blues visit, which followed their 3-2 defeat to Everton and increases the anxiety surrounding their usually stalwart back line.
Indeed, the hosts have conceded 13 goals in their last 6 matches and their defensive fragility begins to outweigh their true productive attack. That being said, they should have enough about them to trouble Braga Thursday.
The Portuguese visitors have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 15 Europa League away games, and before the international break, they were demolished at home to Benfica.
Braga managed to score in 5 of their last 6 games away competitive, so we fancy troubles in defense of wolves. With both teams finding the net in each of the last 6 games Wanderers and 5 of the last 6 games Europa League Braga, support both teams score here seems an excellent choice.
Ultimately, we expect the quality of Wolves shine through Thursday. They easily treated everything the Europa League has thrown at them so far, so we support a 2-1 victory for the hosts here too.
