Panathinaikos-Braga is a match valid for the return leg of the Champions League qualifying playoffs and is played on Tuesday at 9 p.m.: predictions.
The last six teams qualified for the next Champions League will be discovered between today and tomorrow. The group draw, now just around the corner, is scheduled for next August 31. One of the last six will emerge from the match between Panathinaikos of Greece and Braga of Portugal. In the first leg, a week ago, it ended 2-1 for the hosts.
So it’s obvious that it’s the guests, tonight, who start slightly favored. That they hoped until the last second to be a little bit calmer this evening: but Daniel Mancini’s goal, which came in the 95th minute, allows the Greeks – who in the previous preliminary round knocked out Marseille – to look with some optimism at tonight’s engagement. A night that could turn out to be historic.
That the Argentine’s late goal could prove decisive for qualification was also said by coach Jovanovic, who spoke of the psychological help that could come from that final kick. Panathinaikos has not qualified for the Champions League group stage in more than a decade, and the opportunity seems to be the right one. The Greeks will be dragged by a boiling bowl, fans eager to push the team to what would undoubtedly be a historic feat.
On the other hand, Braga is almost used to such matches. But there is one statistic that does not let them sleep soundly: in the last 18 European away matches only on two occasions have the Portuguese managed to keep their goal inviolate. Not a good sign, that.
Braga
The Prediction
A contest that should give at least one goal per team. And also watch out for the possibility of overtime, since the now away goals are no longer counted as “doubles”. So, in the end, let’s say victory for the hosts, in the 90minutes, with the real possibility that the match could go further.
The probable lineups of Panathinaikos-Braga
- PANATHINAIKOS (4-2-3-1): Brignoli; Vagiannidis, Jedvaj, Magnusson, Juankar; Vilhena, Perez; Verbic, Djuricic, Mancini; Ioannidis.
- BRAGA (4-2-3-1): Matheus; Gomez, Fonte, Niakate, Marin; A.Horta, Carvalho; R. Horta, Bruma, Djalo; Ruiz.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
