Will both teams qualify directly for the round of 16?
Sean Dyche is not Nottingham’s first head coach this season, nor is he the second coach to be hired. In mid-October, the 54-year-old succeeded Ange Postecoglou, who had previously taken over from Nuno Espirito Santo. We wouldn’t rule out another change on the sidelines in our Braga vs. Nottingham prediction.
Last weekend, the visitors held the Premier League leaders to a goalless draw (0-0 vs. Arsenal). Matches against supposedly strong teams are not a problem for the Garibaldi Reds. That could work in their favor in the Braga vs. Nottingham prediction.
The visitors struggle more against opponents of a similar or weaker level due to their one-dimensional style of play. In the English top flight, the Tricky Trees have delivered the most crosses (532), but have rarely been dangerous in front of goal. The visitors have already failed to score eleven times in the Premier League. Perhaps this is why the best betting providers are offering relatively balanced Braga – Nottingham betting odds.
So far, the Europa League season has been promising for both teams. The Portuguese representative won four of its six appearances during the league phase without conceding a goal (1D, 1L) and has thus played its way into the top eight teams in the competition.
Sean Dyche made his personal debut as Nottingham coach in the Europa League. Two converted penalties gave the 54-year-old a successful debut. Then (2-0 vs. Porto) as now, the opponent is a team from Portugal.
The teams he coaches always pursue a defensive-first approach, as can be seen from their 4.1 expected goals against in the Europa League – the best record among all participants. On the other side, the strength also lies in preventing scoring chances, so at bet365 we recommend a Braga vs. Nottingham odds of 2.02 for “Both teams to score – No.”
Braga – Nottingham Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
There has not yet been a competitive match between the two clubs. The statistics centers show only one friendly match, which the Tricky Trees won quite unspectacularly 3-0 in the summer of 2016. This time, we would recommend increased Winamax odds for a bet on “Under 2.5 goals.”
Similar to Nottingham (4.1 xGA), Braga (5.6 xGA) has one of the five best expected defenses among all Europa League participants. Both teams rarely allow high-percentage shooting opportunities and concede only 0.10 expected goals per shot.
Braga – Nottingham Tip
The Garibaldi Reds’ own penalty area is a well-kept secret. No other team has allowed fewer opponent touches in their own box during the six EL matchdays played so far than the Premier League club, which is threatened with relegation (76).
Six goals conceded in six matchdays is already a very solid statistic. If we focus on the last four EL appearances, it gets even better. Nottingham finished three of the previous four EL games without conceding a goal and is still unbeaten in Europe under Dyche (3W, 1D).
However, this does not automatically make the English representative the favorite in this matchup. Braga (7th) ranks ahead of the Garibaldi Reds (11th) in the Europa League table and has conceded even fewer goals in the current Europa League phase (5). On the last matchday, the Archbishops recorded their fourth clean sheet in the competition against Nice (1-0).
At the same time, Carlos Vicens’ team’s offensive output has not been particularly high, with five of Braga’s six EL matches involving a maximum of two goals. The only exception was the curious 3-4 defeat at home against KRC Genk.
