Europa League Final Preview - Porto v Braga
It’s an all-Portuguese UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday between FC Porto and Sporting Braga at the Aviva Stadium. Portuguese champions Porto are the favourites to win the match and take home the trophy.
There are no introductions needed as only 47 KM separate these two sides. Porto missed out on the Champions League but ran away with the Portuguese Premera Liga title. They were undefeated and won 27 of 30 matches. They finished 48 points ahead of Braga and beat them twice during the regular season.
Braga finished fourth in the league and this will be the last year former Porto striker Domingos Paciencia will be managing the team. They face a Porto side led by the tandem of Hulk and Falcao, who scored nearly 40 goals in the Portuguese league. Falcao broke a record for 16 goals in the Europa League, with a hat trick in each the quarter-final and semi-final. They are the joint favourites to score first on Wednesday with 9/2 odds at Paddy Powder. You can back Falcao to score twice in the match with 13/2 odds at Paddy Powder.
However, Braga is dangerous on neutral ground. They have just three wins away from home but beat Celtic and Sevilla in the Champions League and upset Benfica over two legs in the semi-final. Porto beat Arsenal in the Champions League group stages and finished third. Though European finals are often defensive affairs, Porto’s attack looks too strong for Braga in this one.
Porto v Braga Match Odds (supplied by Paddy Powder)
Porto: 1/2
Draw: 16/5
Braga: 11/2