Zorya Luhansk finished fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League last term and was drawn against Portugal’s Braga in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. The Ukrainian club participated in the group stage in the past two seasons, finishing fourth and third. Braga actually played in the quarter-finals two seasons ago and are a particularly complicated opponent to face and/or eliminate. Last season, they were knocked out of the tournament by eventual runner-ups Olympique Marseille in the Round of 32.
Bet on Braga vs Zorya Luhansk with bet365
The first leg in Zaporizhia ended in a 1-1 draw, which was not unexpected considering how even these two squads were. They shared possession (51%-49%) and had an almost equal amount of goal attempts (16-15).
Player to watch: Ricardo Horta
Braga is always behind Portugal’s top trio of Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. They finished last season in fourth place again. Ricardo Horta is a player to watch from this contest. He scored Braga’s goal in Ukraine and followed it up with two more in the league opening 4-2 victory against Nacional. He recorded an assist as well and was also Braga’s top goalscorer last season. The 23-year-old winger is exceptionally fast and could make the difference tonight.
Kick-off Time
The Braga vs Zorya Luhansk match is the last one on Thursday’s Europa League schedule. It’ll kick off at 21:30 CET and will be played at Estádio Municipal de Braga, one of the most unique stadiums in European football.
Prediction
Bet on Braga vs Zorya Luhansk with bet365
The hosts were fantastic at home domestically last season, winning 14 matches and going unbeaten against everyone other than the top two. Braga also conceded only 0.59 goals per game at home. At the same time, Zorya Luhansk has lost their six Europa League road encounters without scoring a goal. Predicting Braga will qualify is the only logical conclusion.
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The team that progresses might live to regret the success, as Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig awaits in the playoff round.
