Braga v Liverpool Preview
Liverpool take on Braga on Thursday night as they look stay unbeaten the Europa League with the first leg of their last 16 tie. The odds suggest a close match at Braga Municipal Stadium but Liverpool are the slight favourites.
Liverpool are coming off a 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the Premier League and will be riding high into Portugal. The Europa League is Liverpool’s last chance for silverware this season and they are second in the cup odds behind Manchester City with 11/2 odds at Bet365.
The Reds are expected to be without Luis Suarez due to World Cup friendlies and Steven Gerrard due to injury. Dirk Kuyt should start and is a good bet to be first goalscorer after his hat trick last weekend. He has 13/2 odds at Bet365 to do so and hit in the winner against Sparta Prague last round. Andy Carroll could make his European debut and has 2/1 odds to score anytime at Bet365.
Kenny Dalglish has some injury problems and may be satisfied to come away with a draw in the first leg and bring Braga back to Anfield. Liverpool have scored just nine goals in seven matches but have kept clean sheets in each of their last three fixtures. It will be a tough task for Braga to score. Rodrigo Lima is the best bet for the Portuguese side and has five goals in five European starts and 11 on the season. He has 9/1 odds at Bet365 to score first.
Braga are no easy opponent after failing to qualify from their group in the Champions League. They have won five of their last six matches at home in Europe, most notably a 2-0 win over Arsenal. They didn’t do well finishing sixth in the Portuguese league but they beat Lech Poznan in the Europa League last 32. Still, they have lost seven of 10 matches against English sides so the draw is the likely best possibility this week.
Braga v Liverpool Match Odds (supplied by Bet365)
Braga: 15/8
Draw: 2/1
Liverpool: 13/8