Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Arouca
Match Time & Date:
30/12/2021
20:00
Prediction: 1-2
Braga
Following a hard-fought 1-0 win over Belenenses, Braga will look to keep their Champions League hopes alive when they take on Arouca on Thursday evening. Braga have been showing signs of improvement of late, but head coach Carlos Carvalhal must warn his men against complacency. Both David Carmo and Nuno Sequeira are sidelined with injuries for the visiting team. Arouca, on the other hand, aim to put an end to their three-game winless run in the Portuguese top flight.
Carlos Pino’s troops do not seem to be at their sharpest ahead of the visit of Braga, and seeing that the visitors have been in a fine form of late, away win should be considered. This will be the first meeting between the two sides in the Primeira Liga since March 2017 when Braga defeated Arouca 3-1. A man to watch in the home team will be Congo DR attacker Andre Bukia.
Highlighted Player (Ricardo Horta):
Ricardo Horta is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Sporting Braga in Primeira Liga. Born in Sobreda, Portugal, on September 15, 1994, Ricardo Horta spent his youth career at Ginasio Corroios, Benfica, and Vitoria Setubal.
The 173-cm-tall winger continued playing for Setubal at the senior level, but he moved to Malaga in the summer of 2014, signing a five-year deal with the La Liga outfit. Ricardo Horta scored only one goal in 48 appearances for los Boquerones in the Spanish top flight before signing a loan deal with Braga. In July 2017, he signed a permanent contract with the Minhotos.
Ricardo Horta made his Primeira Liga debut against Rio Ave back in April 2013, during his spell with Vitoria Setubal. His primary position is left winger, but he is capable of producing good performances as a right winger as well. He made his Portugal debut in a 1-0 loss to Albania in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Highlighted Team (Braga):
Braga are a Portuguese club that have always been in the shadow of Primeira Liga giants Porto, Benfica and Sporting. Os Minhotos were founded on 19 January, 1921 and they originally played in green and white kits. After the World War II they changed their kits to red and they have been wearing red shirts and white shorts ever since.
Braga play their home games at Estadio Municipal de Braga, the stadium that was opened in December, 2003. Os Minhotos have yet to win the Primeira Liga title, but they finished the 2009/2010 campaign in second position in the standings, just five points behind champions Benfica.
In 2011 Braga participated in the Europa League final, but fellow Portuguese outfit Porto proved to be a big catch for Os Minhotos. Anyhow, that is regarded as the club’s biggest success. Vitoria de Guimaraes are considered Braga’s bitter rivals and the two teams face each other in the Minho derby.
